Britain's chief vet Mr Jim Scudamore was greeted with a slow hand clap today as he arrived to meet farmers' leaders in Cumbria to discuss foot-and-mouth.
A closed meeting was held in Carlisle between Mr Scudamore, local vets and representatives of the National Farmers' Union. A number of irate farmers who were barred stayed outside.
The meeting was taking place as the British government reported the highest daily total of foot-and-mouth outbreaks so far.
Three more cases of the disease - all of them in Cumbria - were confirmed by the end of last night This brought yesterday's total to 28 outbreaks.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said the new cases took the overall number to 326.
The latest three outbreaks were a cattle farm at Wigton, a cattle and sheep farm at Penrith and a small sheep and cattle holding at Kirkhampton in Carlisle.
Mr Scudamore was meeting farming leaders to explain the reasons for wanting to slaughter healthy animals to create "firebreaks" around affected farms in a desperate bid to contain the disease.
But Mr David Handley, a dairy farmer who represents Farmers For Action, said he wanted to know how to explain to his members the reasons behind the compulsory slaughter of healthy livestock if he was not allowed into the meeting.
He said if he could be shown scientific evidence a mass cull would stop the disease then he would be in favour of it.
But at the moment there was evidence to say that was not the way to do it.
While the meeting took place a number of land-owners remained outside with a placard reading: "The silence of the lambs for Blair's election?"
Mr Andrew Spence, representing Farmers for Action from Co Durham - who was also barred from the meeting - said the decision to cull animals should be left to the vet in charge of the particular farm infested not to "somebody sitting behind a desk in London."
He said: "I've spoken to farmers that feel very, very strongly that they don't want to see generations of work gone for no reason - but I don't condone violence in any way."
PA