Agence France Presse
PARIS, March 4 (AFP) - French anti-globalisation activist Jose Bove on Sunday blamed Britain's intensive farming methods for causing a devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
"Foot-and-mouth is a crisis of a system of production that is going to necessitate, on the part of Europe certainly, a deep reflection about the agricultural system in Britain, which is sadly starting to be employed throughout Europe" Bove told France Inter radio.
Bove, the leader of one of France's main farming unions, also said Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher should be "warmly thanked" for causing the succession of crises that has hit the agricultural sector.
"I think we really have to thank the neo-liberal model," of production and commercialisation that Britain has pioneered, he said.
"In Britain, the abattoirs are re-grouped to such an extent that animals spend more time in trucks than in the fields. That means we have a completely industrialised system with large concentrations of animals," which means the virus spreads more easily," he said.
Bove added that Prime Minister Tony Blair's approach was "not far removed from that of Mrs Thatcher."
France has introduced a series of measures, including the destruction of some livestock, to stop the highly contagious animal disease entering the country.:
