THE mass burials and burning of animals witnessed during the foot-and-mouth (FMD) outbreaks should never happen again. The countryside will be kept open, vaccination considered and carcasses incinerated, according to a new plan on how Wales would deal with another FMD epidemic. The Welsh Assembly's latest contingency plan, published yesterday, updates previous proposals which were re-written after a veterinary test exercise last year. One of the biggest revisions is the creation of a Wales Coordination Centre (WCC) to implement control policies decided in London. These include a "presumption in favour of access" to the countryside for the public during an epidemic. During the 2001 crisis thousands of tourism businesses were devastated as visitors were encouraged to stay away from rural areas. The Assembly's new plan recognises this cannot be allowed to happen again and will limit movement restrictions to 3km "Blue Box" zones around infected farms. But Farmers Union of Wales's director of policy Arwyn Owen said this would add to the difficulties in controlling future outbreaks. He said: "We strongly believe the presumption should be in favour of disease control consistent with reasonable access. "The onus of responsibility for disinfection and biosecurity should rest with the person walking the countryside rather than the farmer or landowner." Other aspects of the Assembly's FMD plans which have failed to win farmer backing include the possible use of vaccines and the absence of Welsh autonomy in the decision-making process. Control strategies will continue to filter down from UK rural ministry Defra in London, creating a lengthy chain of command which, farm unions fear, will slow down containment efforts in Wales. But this should change in November when the Assembly assumes greater animal health powers. NFU Cymru President Peredur Hughes said: "If the Assembly had been allowed to make its own decisions last time, I'm sure the out-break would have been controlled much earlier. "I'm also concerned there's still no reliable test that will distinguish between a vaccinated animal and one that has had the disease. It could restrict the marketing of vaccinated livestock and result in a two-tier meat pricing structure. "The best contingency plan is to ensure the disease doesn't enter the country." Welsh Countryside Minister Carwyn Jones welcomed the new plan, saying it made Wales ready for any possible new outbreak. He said: "As circumstances change we consider these and update the plan." | 
