Have just seen a DEFRA press conference - countryside is to remain open (for the time being)
Maybe conspiracy theory, but this link is interesting:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6931639.stm.
And this:- http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2007/animal-0803.htm
If it's correct, then there's a very good chance that this outbreak will be rapidly contained and dealt with.
Have had a quick look around re vaccines and the implications of - can't really make head nor tail of it. Seems to me to be based more on exports rather than animal welfare. Vaccination has the potential to avoid contiguous culling and, in effect, ring fence the outbreak. However, from what I can make out, the EU market doesn't want f&m infected cattle (either vaccinated or disease carrying). The US certainly doesn't.
Will happily be corrected on any of the above.
Interestingly, as an aside, this country will import beef from certain South American countries where F&M is known to be rife.
From a peasants point of view, vaccination is the only way forward.