August 19, 2005

FMD agro-terrorism can cost US cattle industry billions

Agro-terrorists can easily and rapidly spread FMD in US cattle just by hitting on 5 percent of the feedlots, which make up 80-90 percent of the country's feedlot production, according to US General Accounting Office report released last month.

The report pointed out that a deliberate FMD introduction is inexpensive, requires no technical expertise, and could spread easily and rapidly over a large region given the nature of livestock transportation.

It is estimated that even a limited FMD outbreak in just 10 locations could cause US$2 billion in losses, as such an outbreak would lose the confidence of consumers around the world, thus affecting prices and also producers outside the disease area.

The local beef cattle industry and federal government will continue to develop a response strategy against agro-terrorism, the paper added.