Filenews 24 February 2026 - by Angelos Nikolaou
The operation to contain foot-and-mouth disease that threatens the livestock of Cyprus is in full swing. While the Veterinary Services are proceeding with the killing of 13.156 animals, the Police are dusting off the routes of hay smuggling, focusing on a specific animal trader.
A megaton health bomb exploded in the livestock area of Oroklini, alerting the authorities and bringing to the surface allegations of illegal feed imports from the occupied territories. The crisis, which has already led to the decision to kill 13,156 animals (260 cows and 12,896 sheep and goats), is now being transferred to the field of criminal investigations and to the halls of the Parliament.
The Police investigations, under the coordination of a special investigative team of the Larnaca Police Department, are directed in a specific direction. According to cross-checked information, a well-known animal dealer is under the microscope, who allegedly illegally traffics hay through the occupied territories.
Livestock farmers in the area, speaking on condition of anonymity, photograph a specific person who allegedly maintains a paddock near the buffer zone, facilitating illegal trafficking.
The Police have already received a statement from the trader in question, while it is being investigated whether the infected hay was first transported to his own farms in the province of Larnaca and then distributed to his associates.
It is shocking that, according to the laboratory results, the virus appears to have been active in Oroklini units for at least two weeks before it was officially declared on February 21. In fact, one of the infected units belongs to the animal dealer in question. A second farm of the same was detected yesterday with positive cases in another area.
Livestock farmers allegedly attributed the symptoms to "mastitis" on the advice of private veterinarians, but with a direct relationship with the ownership of a unit in which the virus was detected late, avoiding informing the state services.
Initially, the case began to be investigated by the Oroklini Police, when complaints were expressed by the breeders in whose units positive cases were detected on February 19. The Police for this aspect are investigating whether there was negligence either by the Veterinary Services or by the breeders themselves.
Yesterday, after an emergency meeting at the Police Headquarters, it was decided to set up an investigative team from the Larnaca Police Department, which undertook the investigation. The file with the investigative work carried out so far has been forwarded to the Larnaca Police Department. The head of the TAE Larnaca, Giorgos Charalambous, told "F" that the file with the witness material will be studied and "in cooperation with the co-competent services, all possibilities will be investigated, both in relation to the detection and spread of the virus, as well as the possible commission of criminal offenses by any person who violated the law".
Today, Tuesday, a team of European experts arrives in Cyprus along with the first batch of vaccines. The Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panagiotou, from Brussels where she is, said that European solidarity is being put into practice, while she also asked for financial support for those affected.
The next steps of the Veterinary Services are the start of vaccinations within a radius of 10 kilometers from Oroklini.
At the same time, the painful process for 11 units (8 in Oroklini, one each in Livadia, Troulloi and Aradippou) is in full swing. It starts with the killing of animals within the cow farm.
Furthermore, disinfection points and wheeled baths have been installed in all livestock areas of Larnaca.
Extraordinary in Parliament
The issue will be discussed extraordinarily today in the parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, where explanations are expected for the gaps in the controls of the Green Line and the delay in detecting the disease. The Veterinary Services emphasize that foot-and-mouth disease does not affect public health nor is it transmitted through food to humans.
The battle is being fought exclusively to save Cypriot livestock farming.
In the fight against the disease, the... Commission
Cypriot livestock farming is in a state of emergency following the confirmation of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on February 20, 2026. The European Commission, in close cooperation with the Cypriot authorities, immediately activated the protocols of the "One Health" policy, attempting to stop the spread of a virus that, although harmless to humans, threatens the primary sector with economic annihilation.
The issue was discussed at a high level yesterday, as the Commissioner for Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, met with the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panagiotou, on the sidelines of the AGRIFISH Council, underlining the seriousness of the situation. The Minister called for the immediate start of vaccinations. The Commissioner responded immediately to the request, pledging that the shipment of vaccines would start today.
Furthermore, the Minister also had a meeting with the Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen. During her contacts, Ms. Panagiotou submitted a request for financial support, as well as for the immediate availability of vaccines from the European reserve maintained to deal with such crises.
Drastic measures: Exclusion zones and killing of animals – The vaccination dilemma: "Vaccination to Kill"
The Cypriot authorities have already proceeded to impose strict restrictions on the affected farms. The EU strategy includes the immediate killing and landfilling of all susceptible animals (cattle, sheep, pigs) in the contaminated units. Furthermore, it includes the creation of protection and surveillance zones (radius of 3 and 10 km), as well as a total ban on the movement of animals and products of animal origin outside the demarcated areas.
Despite the existence of vaccines, EU legislation remains strict. Preventive vaccination is not allowed, but only "suppressive emergency vaccination". In practice, this means that the animals are temporarily vaccinated to reduce the spread of the virus, but are led to slaughter as soon as possible. The Commission has more than 9,000,000 doses in its antigen bank ready for use, if Cyprus decides to use them.
To mitigate the huge economic losses, the EU is activating the Single Market Programme. The co-financing covers compensation to farmers for the slaughter of their animals (20% to 30% of the eligible costs), as well as coverage of costs for disinfection, laboratory tests and the use of the vaccine bank (which is 100% paid for by the EU).
Furthermore, it includes the activation of the Agricultural Reserve for producers who are in restricted zones but do not have infected animals, in order to cover the losses from the trade "blockade".
The development of laboratory tests in the coming days will determine whether the outbreak has been contained or whether Cyprus will face a prolonged crisis in its livestock production.
