British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair is meeting farmers' leaders today amid anger at claims they may be to blame for the rapid spread of foot-and-mouth.
Mr Blair will also meet tourism chiefs, vets and the army in Devon to see how the fight against the disease has progressed since his visit last month.
The total number of foot-and-mouth outbreaks in Britain now stands at 1,209.
Almost 890,000 animals have been culled as part of efforts to stop the spread of the disease and another 478,000 have been earmarked for slaughter.
Mr Blair's visit comes as Mr David Hill, chairman of the NFU in Devon, said he would rather people broke the law by moving animals than let them suffer and die in confinement.
Mr Hill told this morning's edition of BBC Radio 4's Farming Todayhe "could not condemn" farmers who moved animals illegally rather than see them dying in appalling conditions.
NFU officials in south west Britain have already criticsed suggestions their members could have helped the disease to proliferate.
British trading standards officers have investigated 309 cases of alleged illegal livestock movements since the outbreak.
West Mercia Police also announced an inquiry into alleged fraudulent compensation claims involving unauthorised animal movements.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) warned farmers to observe the "tightest possible precautions" - a message repeated by Downing Street.
The NFU's south-west regional director Mr Anthony Gibson says there is no justification for blaming farmers and accused ministers of trying to "take the heat off themselves".
PA