The committee adopted the report by Encarnación REDONDO JIMÉNEZ (EPP-ED, E) amending the Commission proposal under the consultation procedure. Prompted by the current foot and mouth outbreak in the UK , the committee wanted tough new EU measures to control classical swine fever, which presents many of the same problems as foot and mouth disease. It called for a ban on feeding pig swill and better systems for tracing and checking animals in transit. Member States should update their national emergency plans in the light of the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD). The committee also said a public buying-in scheme should be set up if outbreaks occur to ease the problems caused by long-term restrictions on animal movements.
Although it endorsed the Commission's proposal to continue the current policy of non-vaccination and stamping-out in the event of an epidemic of classical swine fever (CSF), coupled with more stringent bio-safety measures on holdings and in transport, the committee felt that these measures were not enough. It stressed that the large numbers of animals being moved around the EU's internal market and the high density of pigs in some areas, which may lead to the mass slaughter of animals in the event of an outbreak, must be taken into account in devising a strategy for combating it. It also pointed out that EU enlargement was likely to increase the risk of the disease. �