Japan Plans Animal Slaughter to Combat Foot and Mouth

Japan is planning to slaughter more than 118,000 cows, buffalo, pigs and goats from 131 infected farms as it seeks to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

The government will slaughter all livestock within 10km of the disease-hit Miyazaki prefecture.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, nearly 205,000 cows and pigs will be given vaccines before they are slaughtered in order to delay the spread of the infection.

Health workers sprayed disinfectant at farms and in public spaces amid warnings that the virus can be spread via shoes.

The move to vaccinate and slaughter cattle in the four infected towns in the prefecture follows Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru’s declaration of a state of emergency over the outbreak.