Foot-and-mouth Disease - Economic and Ethical Issues

Economic and Ethical Issues

Epidemics of FMD have resulted in the slaughter of millions of animals, despite this being a frequently nonfatal disease for adult animals (2-5% mortality), though young animals can have a high mortality. The Taiwan outbreak that only affected pigs also showed a high mortality for adults. The destruction of animals is primarily to halt further spread, as growth and milk production may be permanently affected, even in animals that have recovered. Due to international efforts to eradicate the disease, infection would also lead to trade bans being imposed on affected countries. Critics of current policies to cull infected herds argue that the financial imperative needs to be balanced against the killing of many animals, especially when a significant proportion of infected animals, most notably those producing milk, would recover from infection and live normal lives, albeit with reduced milk production. On the ethical side, one must also consider FMD is a painful disease for the affected animals. The vesicles/blisters are painful in themselves, and restrict both eating and movement. Through ruptured blisters, the animal is at risk from secondary bacterial infections and, in some cases, permanent disability.