Nicosia, Cyprus. A dispute has emerged in Cyprus over compensation for livestock units affected by the foot and mouth outbreak, with breeders accusing the state of seeking ways to avoid payments. Veterinary services rejected the allegations and said compensation depends on compliance with legal requirements.
Breeders allege efforts to avoid payments
The Voice for Livestock Breeders association said on Wednesday that the state was continuing to find loopholes to avoid compensation payments for livestock units affected by foot and mouth disease.
The organisation’s president, Neophytos Neophytou, told Alpha TV’s Kalimera programme that it was unacceptable for President Nikos Christodoulides to publicly call for payment for culled and counted animals while the veterinary services focused on financial aspects and sought legal provisions to avoid paying farmers.
Neophytou said the president had issued explicit directives for compensation payments, but alleged that the veterinary services were seeking legal loopholes to avoid them.
Veterinary services reject accusation
The director of the veterinary services, Christodoulos Pipis, firmly rejected Neophytou’s claims.
He said compensation was granted only to livestock farmers who met the legal provisions and had kept their database up to date. He cited the case of a farm that had declared 6,000 animals but was later found to have only 1,000.
Responding to Pipis, Neophytou said the veterinary services had known for years about errors in the system and had overlooked them until now, leaving producers exposed.
He asked why livestock farmers had not been informed before their animals were culled that they would not be compensated.
Millions of euros at stake
Neophytou said large livestock units had been affected and that the remuneration involved amounted to several million euros.
Pipis reiterated that responsibility for accurately declaring animal populations lay solely with livestock farmers and not with the state. He added that each case would be examined on its own merits.
Outbreak response under discussion
The dispute follows a meeting in late May between President Christodoulides, experts and interest groups to discuss the government’s further handling of the foot and mouth outbreak.
Cyprus has been battling the outbreak since February, and thousands of animals have been culled.