DATE=04/03/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BRITAIN / HOOF AND MOUTH (L-O)

NUMBER=2-274469

BYLINE=TOM RIVERS

DATELINE=LONDON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The number of British farms with confirmed cases of hoof-and-mouth disease is approaching one-thousand and a political storm is brewing over the best use of the army in combating the outbreak. Tom Rivers in London has the story.

TEXT: The British army has been assisting agriculture department veterinarians in slaughtering and disposing of hundreds-of-thousands of animals infected with hoof and mouth disease. But, opposition Conservative party leader William Hague says that is not good enough.

/// HAGUE ACT ///

I think it is time for the government to put the army in charge of dealing with this. To cut through the chaos and confusion on the ground so that army commanders are actually in charge of it. Not just working along side the Ministry of Agriculture.

/// END ACT ///

But army chiefs are against that idea, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the system in place is slowly but surely working.

/// BLAIR ACT ///

It has got to be a cooperative effort really and that is what we are doing. But you know, there are vast amounts of people and time and energy now being expended getting this disease under control.

X /// END ACT ///

Government advisors had warned that the hoof-and-mouth outbreak would peak in early June with more than four-thousand reported cases.

They have now revised that estimate downward but the general trend will continue with more bad news in the coming weeks before the number of new cases starts to diminish.

/// OPT /// The extent of the outbreak has forced Prime Minister Blair to postpone local elections - and with them the country's general election - until June 7th so he can concentrate on fighting the livestock disease.

A public opinion poll published Tuesday showed that Mr. Blair's Labor government increased its lead over the opposition Conservatives from nine to 15-points. /// END OPT ///

Six-weeks into this crisis, nearly one-million animals have been slaughtered or are due to be killed in the next few days. (SIGNED)

NEB/TR/GE/RAE