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A North Devon farming couple are planning to apply for permission
to vaccinate their sheep and cattle against foot-and-mouth disease.
If they get
the go-ahead, they'd be the first in the South West and could help
to change the country's outlook on the disease.
The couple who
are hoping to win permission to vaccinate are Lawrence and Karen
Wright from Mortehoe. They own a closed flock of organic sheep and
are among the few producers of organic ewes milk in Britain.
They've been
keeping their animals secure from contamination throughout the outbreak.
But now they
say that the demand by Government to open footpaths in the area
threatens their bio-security, and one casual infection could decimate
farms and tourist businesses throughout their valley.
So the Wrights
intend to try to vaccinate their animals to protect them against
such infection and are applying to the farming ministry, Defra,
for permission.
But officials
say that if they did vaccinate it wouldn't stop slaughter teams
from taking out their animals even if they weren't showing signs
of the disease.
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More
foot-and-mouth news ....
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More
details on reopening of footpaths
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