Nicosia, Cyprus. Veterinary association chairman Demetris Epaminondas said there is “no less painful alternative” to killing animals in livestock units where cases of foot and mouth disease have been recorded. He said the measure is required under European legislation.
EU legislation and culling requirements
Epaminondas told the Cyprus News Agency that “the killing of all animals in such cases is imposed by European legislation” and described European Union law on the matter as “particularly strict”.
Vaccination and disease control
He said vaccinations cannot replace culling as a method of preventing the disease’s spread, adding that the vaccine’s aim is “to limit the transmissibility of the disease”. He said that even a vaccinated animal, if it tests positive, must be culled, and added that animals can remain infectious for four to six months.
Risks of further transmission
Epaminondas said allowing infected animals to live entails the risk that the virus could be transmitted further by air, machinery, or other means affecting other units. “That is why these extreme measures are being taken,” he said.
Cyprus-specific challenges
He said Cyprus is “in a peculiar situation due to the concentration of large animal populations in small geographical areas” and noted that the Green Line separating the island’s two sides “cannot be 100 per cent controlled”.
Message to the public and farmers
Epaminondas urged the public to be “understanding and calm” regarding veterinarians tasked with undertaking the culling. He said veterinarians do not want to participate in what he called euthanasia and stressed that veterinarians “are not the enemies of livestock farmers”, adding that they have been mobilised from the beginning with vaccinations and implementation of legislation to limit the disease.
What measures do you think would help limit the spread of foot and mouth disease while supporting livestock farmers?