A mass cull of poultry in the UK is being prepared by Defra officials in meetings with some of the main agricultural firms involved in the clean up and disposal of hundreds of thousands of cattle, pig and sheep carcasses during the foot and mouth epidemic.
As it plans a cull, Defra is being forced to turn for help to firms it has spent years fighting in disputes over outstanding bills of millions of pounds from the foot and mouth crisis.
News of Defra's plans came as fears grew that the lethal H5NI form of avian flu had reached the heart of the European Union.
Like other communities across the country, the villagers of Lympstone in Devon have for some years run an admirable collective composting scheme, whereby hedge clippings, vegetable waste and other organic refuse is collected from round the village, taken to a communal heap and sold back to villagers at £1.50 a bag.
Defra adds that special consideration should be given to "small scale composting" schemes, which have "an important part to play in meeting Government targets".
The only notable "concession" is the proposal of a separate band of charging for those at the lower end of the scale of composting, which may still result in payment by community composting groups of something in excess of £300 per annum.
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