Animals rights campaigners will take to the streets of York tomorrow over the foot and mouth slaughter.

Members of York Animal Aid and the city's branch of the Green Party will stage a banner-waving protest outside the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The protest is being organised by York's parliamentary candidate for the Green Party, Bill Shaw

Alan Robertshaw, of York Animal Aid, said: "We are holding this demonstration against mass culling and slaughter of animals. We think there's a better way of approaching the situation by vaccination and treatment of animals.

"There are plenty of arguments that foot and mouth is only like flu and the only reason they're using this particular policy is that they can't export live animals if they do.

"It's for entirely economic reasons. These animals would recover. It's not foot and mouth disease that's wiping them out, it's MAFF."

But Rob Simpson, spokesman for the National Farmers' Union, said: "Foot and mouth disease is nothing like flu. Often the first sign a farmer gets that his animals have the disease is when up to 90 per cent of the new born lambs drop dead because the disease weakens their immune systems and makes them susceptible to all sorts of illnesses.

"In older stock, it creates blisters in the mouth and in the feet and makes them lame. When they recover some weeks later they are unfit to be slaughtered for meat."

The protest, which begins at 1pm, at the MAFF entrance in Peasholme Green, will include a minute's silence to remember the animals which have been killed.

A further case of foot and mouth was today confirmed in North Yorkshire, bringing the total in the county to 12.

The outbreak is at South Dyke Farm, Garriston Road, Leyburn, where 108 sheep and 67 cattle will be slaughtered.

The announcement comes after farmers on the North York Moors went on a war footing as foot and mouth broke out on their doorstep.

Livestock at Ashes Farm in Ruswarp, near Whitby, and cattle from six neighbouring farms were being slaughtered, while communities including tourist honeypot Goathland braced themselves for further outbreaks.

Alison Jarman, of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, said livestock at the seven farms had to be slaughtered as a precaution.

An exclusion zone forbidding the movement of animals within a 3km radius was set up around the farm.

The Form 'D' exclusion zone starts at the coast north of Whitby town and includes Newholm, coming down to Aislaby, Iburndale, Ugglebarnby and Sneaton.

The zone then moves East missing Stainsacre and then north to the coast just south of Whitby town.

Updated: 16:51 Monday, April 09, 2001