First Minister in plea over slaughter of million Scottish lambs

SCOTLAND - Alex Salmond has appealed directly to the Prime Minister to prevent a "welfare cull" of up to a million lambs because of restrictions imposed in the wake of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

The First Minister has also called on the UK government to fund a compensation scheme for Scottish farmers unable to sell or export their livestock.

Farmers' leaders have warned healthy livestock will soon have to be slaughtered because they cannot be exported or moved to fresh grazing areas. It is the first time such a move has been considered since the last foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001.

The Scottish Government yesterday announced farmers could move animals up to eight kilometres within a single farm business. The relaxation comes in the wake of completion of tracings of animal movements from the site of the outbreak, in Surrey.

In a letter to Gordon Brown, Mr Salmond spelled out the "extremely serious and immediate" animal-welfare problems north of the Border.

He called for "an immediate relaxation" of restrictions on the working hours of drivers responsible for moving a backlog of livestock around Scotland, and for a compensation scheme for farmers who have to slaughter their stock for the sake of the welfare of the animals.

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Source: The Scotsman

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