DEPRESSED farmers may kill themselves as the mad cow disease scare ruins their industry, their union has warned.

The National Farmers' Union is bracing itself for an increase in suicides as the beef business faces an uncertain future.

Cattle prices have already plummeted and farmers face financial disaster as shoppers boycott the meat.

A spokesman for the NFU in Blackburn said: "It's a well known fact that the farming industry already has a high suicide rate.

"The scare is going to put a great emotional and financial strain on farmers and could be enough to push them over the edge.

"This is the last thing they need and the consequences could be awful."

Massive job losses are expected in the beef industry following the suspected link between BSE and the human equivalent, Creutsfeldt Jakobs Disease.

The NFU spokesman added: "It's not just slaughterhouses that will suffer.

"The entire dairy industry will be hit, especially if all the cattle are destroyed.

"The effects of the scare will continue to hit the farming industry for years."

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