October 2, 2006

US livestock vulnerable to terrorists

The US livestock industry is vulnerable to a terrorist attack because of the way it is  structured,  a senior political scientist for the RAND Corp, Peter Chalk, said at the International Symposium on Agroterrorism in Kansas City, Missouri, last week.

Chalk said the size of US production facilities makes it impossible for farmers to check individual animals. Because of the sheer numbers, farmers would not be able to notice the early symptoms introduced by terrorist into animals, he said.

Chalk said the open nature of livestock production practices leaves many vulnerable areas, so producers must focus on risk assessment.

Terrorists may choose any number of lethal agents that would spread rapidly.  Foot-and-mouth disease , for example, could spread to 25 states in as little as five days, given the widespread transport of many animals in the US.

An attack of such a nature would have widespread effects such as economic destabilisation, loss of consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply and social instability, he added.