THE GOVERNMENT'S deployment of the Army to help speed up the slaughter and disposal of livestock has been slammed as a 'con' by an NFU spokesman.

As the number of confirmed cases of foot and mouth disease in Devon rose to 48 this week, Okehampton and Hatherleigh NFU secretary Simon Whattler said getting in the military police to help with logistics was not enough.

'There are unbelievable delays between diagnosis, slaughter and disposal of livestock and this is causing incredible distress among farmers,' he said. 'Deploying the army in an organisational capacity is not what is needed — we need those pyres built quickly so carcasses can be removed from the farms as soon as possible.

'The suggestion that the Government has brought in the Army is just a con.'

Mr Whattler said there would be no change in the number of people 'on the ground, getting the job done'.

'The Royal Engineers should be brought in with equipment — if they can build roads across deserts or swamps they could build a road across farm land within two days. It would take away the huge amounts of stress and psychological damage currently being caused to farmers by this crisis.'

The NFU secretary said there was a case where a farmer's sheep flock was diagnosed two weeks ago and destroyed two days later but MAFF had only got around to looking at his cattle this week.

'They came on Tuesday morning to kill the cattle and did not have enough anaesthetic. The family had built themselves up to this awful day and their agony had to be drawn out. This is happening time and time again.'

Since last Thursday there has been 15 new cases of foot and mouth in Devon — two in Hatherleigh, two in Okehampton and two in Monkokehampton and there have also been outbreaks in Northlew, Iddesleigh, Bridestowe, Jacobstowe, Gulworthy, Barnstaple, Winkleigh Shebbear and Crediton.

l Culling of thousands of healthy sheep in an attempt to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease is 'ill conceived and illogical' says an Inwardleigh farmer.

Margaret Stanbury has described the pre-emptive cull, which could extend to Devon, as a 'holocaust of healthy sheep'.

'This plan is ill-conceived because the outbreaks can be traced to a tangible source and the majority of sheep have had no contact, either directly or indirectly with infection,' she said. 'Therefore there is no reason whatsoever to suppose they will go ahead and succumb to the disease.'

She said it was also illogical because if the disease was carried on the wind what possible use could a three-kilometre 'firebreak' serve.