AN East Lancashire consultant slams farmers who evade controls to stop the spread of Mad Cow disease by forging "health certificates" for cattle they sell.

But, he adds, if they got better compensation from the government when their herds became infected, more cases of the disease would be reported instead of sick cattle being dumped in the market. .

Fine, but would that not amount to bribing farmers with taxpayers' money to be honest?

Another way, we think, would be really hammering the guilty in court - so that the incentive for cheating and forgery and selfish disregard for public health might be diminished with justice rather than subsidy.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.