"It is absolutely outrageous and the worst kind of smear for DEFRA Ministers to appear on the media as they have been, shamelessly scapegoating farmers who were just trying to protect their life's work from heavy handed and, in many cases, incompetent bureaucrats," said Mr Gibson.
"And it is especially galling because there has not been a single case in Devon where it can be shown that by attempting to resist the slaughter of healthy stock in the contiguous cull that the progress of the disease could have been halted any quicker."
"Instead of mounting yet another unjustified attack on farmers, the Government should be concentrating on stopping the disease getting here again and this means shutting the door on suspect imports instead of leaving it wide open."
Ends