Lambs for the slaughter

The foot and mouth crisis in Surrey, southern England, could well lead to what's euphemistically called the mercy slaughter of 250,000 lambs across Scotland. Due to export restrictions, the animals cannot be exported as per normal. The timing of the foot and mouth outbreak could not have come at a worse time, coming as it does in the middle of the autumn sales season. The lambs cannot be kept out on the hills, as the grass is getting less and less nourishing, and the sheep could end up dying of starvation.