DARTMOOR Commoners Council is calling for minor roads onto the moor to be closed except for access in an attempt to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease.
The Commoners are increasingly anxious that animals are wandering freely on Dunnabridge Common, near the confirmed outbreak of the disease nearly two weeks ago.
But Council spokesman Cherry Seage said, as in the case of their request to have disinfectant mats put down on major routes onto the moor, the county council will not help.
'They say they won't do anything unless MAFF ask them for it. People are getting very worried. It's very close to Okehampton Moor now, we have this problem bang in the middle of the moor. Nobody will take responsibility,' said Mrs Seage, who is trying to establish if action can be taken under the Dartmoor Commons Act.
Ian Johnson, South West regional NFU spokesman, said: 'I think as far as the NFU is concerned, anything that local farmers consider prudent and necessary we would fully support.
'I think everybody is looking for guidance — this whole episode has tragically been characterised by a vacuum of decision making.'
Peter Doyle, spokesman for Devon County Council, said: 'We have agreed a protocol with the police who have the power to close a road in an emergency.
'We are encouraging farmers to make representations to the police — they will make a strategic decision on whether a road needs to be closed.'
Mr Doyle said the county council has no powers to close roads in an emergency — when road closures are authorised for highway works, the legal documentation takes time to process.