Originally from: Farmtalking
                        
It's not what you say it's the way you say it!

Or perhaps to be more accurate, this report illustrates just how much the Chief Vet's perspective differs from our own.

However carefully his words were chosen there is no doubt that we are miles apart when it comes to his interpretation of the Govt's actions during and after FMD.

It seems that in spite of the many promises to ensure the speedy adoption of the Govt Inquiries' recommendations, – remember their promise that the Govt Inquiries and therefore advice, would be so much quicker than a Public Inquiry and so more speedily acted upon? – little has been done and the actions taken by DEFRA/Govt seem in so many ways to go against the Inquiry recommendations anyway.

If FMD were to strike again tomorrow the same slaughter policy would be rolled out. There would be no 'Pen-side' testing and vaccination would only be adopted if slaughter targets could not be met within a given time scale.

The amendments to the Animal Health Act ensure the Govt have legal powers to slaughter and animal owners have no right to protect their stock through the Courts prior to slaughter.

To say we remain 'miles apart' is an understatement.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2003/030618b.htm