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BBC News
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| French farms cannot cope with their burgeoning
herds |
France
has unveiled a radical plan to tackle the crisis over mad
cow disease, by slaughtering up to 10,000 cattle every week.
Cattle
herds have been building up on farms across France as the
market for beef has collapsed.
Agriculture
Minister Jean Glavany said on Thursday he would also be
demanding extra European Union cash later this month to
compensate French farmers hit by the crisis.
Beef
sales have plummeted in France and elsewhere in Europe as
fears over mad cow disease, or BSE, have spread.
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| Farmers across Europe have taken to the streets
in protest |
"If
Brussels refuses to listen to the distress of French farmers,
I will assume my responsibilities, in agreement with the
prime minister, and we will re-examine the situation,"
Mr Glavany said in a statement.
For
now, the priority would be to "speed up the removal
of animals which are currently in excessive numbers on farms
because of the lack of buyers."
The
ministry will also increase health and customs controls
to prevent greater instability of the French market, the
statement said.
New
testing measures came into force across the EU in January
in a bid to restore consumer confidence, but markets have
not recovered.
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| Thousands of animals have been left
unsold |
Further
emergency measures were announced by Agriculture Commissioner
Franz Fischler on Tuesday, designed to reduce the glut of
cattle and boost non-intensive farming methods.
Farmers
in France have stepped up their protests demanding compensation,
blockading roads and burning one consignment of foreign
beef.
'Disastrous'
The
National Federation of Farmers' Unions described the current
situation as "disastrous".
It wants
farmers to get between FFr 1,000 and 3,500 ($140-491) in
compensation for each cow sold during the crisis.
In a
separate development, France's food safety agency has demanded
tighter safeguards on sheep and goat products, because of
the "hypothetical" risk that they too could be
infected BSE.
The
agency said brains from sheep and goats aged more than six
months should be banned for human consumption - down from
a one-year age limit - and urged that all spleen and intestines
from the animals should be destroyed.
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