40 Vets Sign Letter to Blair

40 vets working at the FMD command centre in Dumfries, one of the main MAFF kill zones wrote a letter to Tony Blair. It shows that MAFF's own killers no longer believe in what they are doing.

Dear Prime Minister,

We are veterinary surgeons who have been working for the past weeks to assist in the eradication of foot and mouth disease of our animals.

Unfortunately, the attempts to control this infection have been taken from the hands of the chief veterinary officer and control now rests in your office: We understand that you are advised by the government chief scientist [David King], and the professor of epidemiology [Roy Anderson] from Imperial College, London University. It should be pointed out that neither of these men has any veterinary training. As a result we are now seeing a savage attack on what livestock remains in the north of England and the southwest of Scotland. Animals are being slaughtered without rhyme or reason, often weeks after the supposed danger farm has been eliminated. This 'scorched earth' policy undoubtedly results in the eradication of foot and mouth disease, but it may be pyrrhic victory.

Healthy animals will have to be slaughtered but the decision on their fate should be determined by veterinary surgeons, not politicians, soldiers or mathematicians. Veterinary surgeons have the unique privilege of being able to kill animals to prevent suffering, but this does not give us the right to indulge in mass destruction of healthy animals because of unproven computer predictions. If we are not to be used as professionals we must question why we are employed at all."

Source: Sunday Times, 29 April 2001