Emergency plans are being drawn up to bury millions of slaughtered animals in giant rubbish dumps as the foot and mouth crisis soars out of control.
After scouring the country for landfills which could safely take the carcasses, the Environment Agency sent a list of some 15 carefully selected sitesto the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF)yesterday (NZT).
Meanwhile disused airstrips in Cumbria – the county worst hit by the disaster – are being earmarked as "killing fields" for the slaughter of up to 300,000 animals, who will be taken to them in specially designed vehicles.
A military logistics team has encamped in MAFF's offices to making the killing more efficient as Jim Scudamore, the chief vet, yesterday gave the order for a nationwide cull of all livestock on land neighbouring farms infected with the disease.
There are now 537 cases of the disease confirmed in the UK, including 13 yesterday. More than 320,000 animals have so far been killed, while another 200,000 await the slaughtermen.
