The British government last night accepted "in principle" advice that the limited vaccination of cattle could aid efforts to halt the spread of foot-and-mouth.
Farmers' leaders have yet to support the proposals and the president of the National Farmers' Union, Mr Ben Gill, compared the proposed vaccination scheme with "putting a ball on a roulette wheel".
After two hours of talks between the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and farmers' representatives, Downing Street said the government accepted in principle the advice of the Chief Veterinary Officer, Mr Jim Scudamore, that the limited vaccination of cattle in Cumbria, and possibly Devon, was "justified as a means of protecting those animals". The spokesman said vaccination would only "supplement" the current slaughter policy and acknowledged that the proposals did not have the backing of the entire farming community.
"It is quite clear from the discussions so far that the support from the farmers is not currently there, and that the farming community as a whole is deeply divided on the issue," the spokesman added.
Many farmers are worried they will not be able to sell meat and dairy products from vaccinated herds and Mr Gill said the government's proposals had raised serious concerns within the farming community. "We have put forward a list of questions that we required to be answered, on trade-related issues, on consumer issues, and on veterinary and epidemiological issues," he told BBC radio. "We have had some answers, but regrettably those answers have spawned even more questions."
Earlier, the Conservative agriculture spokesman, Mr Tim Yeo, criticised the government for failing to take "prompt, decisive action at virtually every stage" of the crisis. He said ministers had pledged they would make a decision on the use of vaccine 18 days ago.
"The three vital questions the Ministry of Agriculture must answer before implementing such a programme of vaccination are: will vaccinating speed up the eradication of the disease, will it reduce the number of animals that need to be slaughtered, will it bring forward the date of Britain once again achieving disease-free status? If at least two of the answers to these questions are yes, then the Government must implement a vaccination policy," Mr Yeo said.
With the British tourist industry facing losses estimated at £2.5 billion sterling due to falling visitor numbers, Mr Brian Stack, vice-chairman of the US Tour Operators, said American tourists were not visiting Britain because they were confusing foot-and-mouth with BSE.
The British Tourist Authority led travel company delegates from Japan, Canada and the US on a fact-finding tour of Scotland and Cumbria to encourage tourists to return to Britain.