FOOT AND MOUTH CRISIS IS ESCALATING - SLAUGHTER OF 19,000 PIGS - PROBLEM IS URGENTLY IN PARLIAMENT - Filenews 21/4 by Angelos Nikolaou
Foot-and-mouth disease is spreading at an alarming rate, causing an unprecedented socio-political conflagration just before the parliamentary elections.
The recent mobilization of livestock farmers at the entrance of Nicosia and the ultimatum for road closures next Thursday, compose a scene of tension, with the government coming under fire for its handling and the Veterinary Services barricading themselves behind the strict European regulations.
The trust gap between producers and the state is deepening, with livestock farming sending out an alarm signal for the next day and the parliamentary Committee on Agriculture not remaining uninvolved by deciding to examine the issue of foot-and-mouth disease shortly before the last plenary session for the elections next Thursday.
The most dramatic chapter of the crisis is being written these days in western Nicosia. According to the latest data from the Veterinary Services (until 19/4), the process of slaughtering 19,000 pigs in two large units in Paleometocho has already begun and is expected to be completed before the end of the month.
This loss corresponds to 6.1% of the country's total pig population, while fears for the third pig farm in the same area are real.
The president of the Pancyprian Pig Breeders' Association, Petros Kailas, made a gloomy estimate that 50% of livestock farmers may never reactivate, fearing an uncertain future and the constant threat from the occupied areas, where the tactic of vaccination instead of eradication is followed.
The spread of the virus is reflected in the shocking numbers. Until Sunday, the infected units reached a total of 101, 13 cattle (9 in Larnaca and 4 in Nicosia), 86 sheep, goats, sheep and goats (62 in Larnaca and 24 in Nicosia) and 2 pigs in western Nicosia. 35,534 sheep and goats and 2,244 cattle have already been slaughtered.
The numbers of infected (and killed or to be killed) animals account for 8% of the total number of adult sheep and goats and 2.8% of the total number of cattle. Sampling continues in all units within the infected areas, which is why the numbers of cases are increased. In the area of Geri and Dali the sampling will be completed tomorrow, while in Larnaca by the end of the month.
The second phase of vaccinations is at 73.5% for cattle and 60% for sheep and goats, while in pigs within protection zones it reaches 94.7%, i.e. 18 of the 19 units located within the infected areas have been vaccinated.
In a memorandum to the President of the Republic, a group of livestock breeders denounces the killing of healthy animals as an "abuse of power" and an infringement of the right to property (Article 23 of the Constitution).
Their main demands:
1. Selective killing of only clinically positive animals.
2. Right to private analyses, as they consider the exclusion of private laboratories illegal.
3. Immediate clarification of compensation for lost profits and reconstitution of the population.
"The producer is deprived of the right to refute the scientific position of the administration, making the Veterinary Services both a controller and a controlled one," the memorandum states.
The Veterinary Services and the Minister of Agriculture respond in a strict style, citing European Regulation 2020/687. The official position is clear that universal killing in units with cases of category A disease (such as aphthos) is mandatory and cannot be derogated.
On the financial side, the government says a €28 million allocation has been approved for compensation. It is noted that 31 units are already beneficiaries of advance payments, with payments being completed gradually. The evaluation of milk allowances for another 27 units will be completed next week.
The situation is complicated in the Pergamon (Buffer Zone) areas, where the presence of the occupying army prevents milk collection and veterinary checks, in contrast to the areas of the British Bases where cooperation continues.
At the same time, Cyprus expects reinforcements in materials (disinfectants, uniforms, stun guns) from Poland, Hungary and Germany through the DG ECHO mechanism, with the first deliveries starting on April 22.
