British Prime Minister Tony Blair was to meet farming and tourism chiefs yesterday as anger and frustration emerge in key industries over his government's handling of a rapidly worsening foot-and-mouth outbreak.
As the outbreak of the highly contagious, financially ruinous livestock disease went into a fourth week, Blair was anxious to prevent it becoming a political embarrassment in the run-up to a general election he is widely expected to call for May 3.
Some farmers, hoteliers and others affected by the outbreak, which has turned the countryside into a vast "no go" area, have begun taking issue with the government's constant assertions that the situation is under control.
"I know it's very frustrating because we simply don't know how foot-and-mouth is going to develop," Blair said in a speech on Monday, clearly trying to show he was aware of the concerns in rural Britain. "I'll be having a series of meetings, not just with farmers but with the wider rural community to see what help we can give them."
The BBC reported that the government had decided to call in army marksmen to help kill infected animals as the numbers for slaughter mounted in their tens of thousands.
Meanwhile, France on Monday confirmed it's first case of the disease. that the disease, raising fears in continental Europe.
French officials said vets had identified an outbreak of foot-and-mouth in a herd of 114 cows on a dairy farm in Mayenne, northwest France.
The entire herd, which had been discovered with symptoms of the disease during the afternoon, was slaughtered.
In Britain, some farmers began to question the government's handling of the fast-spreading outbreak as the number of infected sites leapt by 19 on Monday to a total of 183.
With an estimated 160,000 animals slaughtered or due to be killed because of the disease, disposal of the carcasses has become a serious problem despite pyres burning round the clock.
Farmers in some areas complained that the government was unable to cope and that bodies were rotting in huge piles, creating further health risks.
"Farmers are prepared to stand there with shotguns if necessary," Haddock told the Daily Mail newspaper.
Britain's meat industry estimates it is losing Pds80 million (US$11.72 million) a week in sales because of a self-imposed export ban, and farmers say their soaring bills threaten to put them out of business.
The Times reported that police were taking shotguns from farmers thought to be on the brink of suicide over the outbreak. I
Despite the outbreak, Blair has shown no signs of giving up on Labour's widely reported strategy of planning for a May 3 general election to capitalize on huge opinion poll leads over the opposition Conservatives.
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