Press Release: FMD: General commitment not to re-introduce vaccination by Member States

In a meeting of the Standing Veterinary Committee on 23 March 2001 all Member States of the European Union confirmed their strong commitment to the current EU policy to eradicate foot and mouth disease. This involves two priorities. First, the killing and destruction of infected and susceptible animals. Second, strict controls on the movement of animals to minimise the potential for the virus to spread. There was no support for general vaccination of animals.

In this context and on the request of the Dutch delegation, the Standing Veterinary Committee gave a favorable opinion to a proposal of the European Commission that the Netherlands may resort, under certain well-defined conditions, to an emergency vaccination against foot and mouth disease