Nicosia, Cyprus. Livestock farmers objected on Tuesday after the government said it was considering using local herds to replenish animal stock destroyed under measures to contain foot and mouth disease. Farmers said they wanted replacement animals to be imported from abroad.
Government weighing local replenishment
At parliament, agriculture ministry permanent secretary Andreas Gregoriou said the government had initially considered importing animals from abroad to replace about 10 per cent of the animal stock that was culled.
He said authorities later decided that importing animals would take too long and are now considering local herds for replenishment.
Gregoriou also told MPs that a special committee on the reconstitution of the animal stock will submit a report by the end of July on the best way forward.
Farmers raise concerns
A representative of the Voice of Livestock Farmers group rejected the proposal, saying samples would inevitably need to be taken from non-infected farming units selected for replenishment.
The farmers said they oppose that approach because if any livestock test positive for foot and mouth disease, they would have to be culled.
They therefore insisted that animals should be brought in from overseas.
Outbreak figures and ongoing testing
The last recorded case of foot and mouth disease was on June 10.
So far, 121 farming units have tested positive for the highly contagious disease. In 119 of those establishments, all animals were culled.
A total of 52,632 sheep and goats have been destroyed, equal to 11.5 per cent of the stock. In addition, 3,018 cattle, or 3.5 per cent of the stock, and 24,483 pigs, or 7.8 per cent of the stock, have been destroyed.
Veterinary services are continuing tests both inside and outside the affected areas.
