IT IS grotesque. Across Britain, thousands of slaughtered farm animals are
burning on giant pyres. The air is thick with the smell of burning straw and
meat. Is this medieval measure really the best way to deal with infectious
disease in the 21st century?
We’re talking foot and mouth disease, of course, which spread rapidly and
invisibly, emerging at a dozen sites last week. All movement of livestock around
the country has stopped, infected farms have been quarantined and their animals
slaughtered. Politicians and officials across the European Union have their
fingers crossed that these draconian measures will be enough…
