Superhuman efforts of the authorities under adverse conditions, strong reactions and judicial blockades marked the final phase of the operation to complete the killings of animals in the infected units with foot-and-mouth disease.
Until yesterday morning, management was underway in 118 of the 120 infected units nationwide, while sampling in Pachna begins immediately and a new data evaluation is expected from tomorrow. It is noted that, despite the general completion, the animals in the two infected units with fattened sheep and red cows of the local breed have not been killed.
The total number of animals killed in the 118 infected units reaches 80,000. Specifically, all the planned killings in the province of Nicosia had been completed. In Limassol, the killings have also been completed in the one and only unit so far that has been found positive for the virus. In the province, and specifically within the infected zone of Pachna, the planned sampling within a radius of 3 kilometers begins immediately to show the extent of the problem. At the same time, the livestock farmers of the area are now cooperating with the authorities, the payments of compensation are proceeding normally, while the next major evaluation of the data by the epidemiological team is expected tomorrow.
In the province of Larnaca, the operation was successfully completed in 5 units. In Athienou, the killing of the last 188 animals left in the unit was completed yesterday around 10 am. In Dromolaxia, the killings on the penultimate farm (about 500 animals) were completed yesterday with the staff working until 4 in the morning. As for the last remaining unit in the area, for which the owners put up strong resistance, the objection against the killing was rejected in court on Friday. Therefore, after this development, the killing proceeded and was completed.
Based on these developments, about 6,650 animals were killed in the provinces of Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca, within the last two days.
The epidemiological report reveals the size of the spread in the 120 infected farms: • 14 cattle units, one of which was illegal (9 units in Larnaca and 5 in Nicosia). • 103 sheep and goat units (73 in Larnaca, of which one illegal, 29 in Nicosia and 1 in Limassol). • 3 pig farms in western Nicosia. Of these units, 31 concern very small farms (less than 50 animals), while 4 are livestock farms (one of which is fattening). These losses are a heavy blow, as they account for 11.5% of the total number of adult sheep and goats in the country, 3.5% of cattle and about 7.8% of the total number of pigs.
It is noted that in the previous days, the process of eradicating the disease caused extreme social tensions. The Veterinary Services were confronted with verbal violence (threats and insults) as well as physical violence from a portion of livestock breeders.
Specifically, in an incident in Kofinou, an officer was kicked by a farmer, while in Pachna violence was used against two state blood collection teams. An angry mob forcibly extracted the samples taken from one of the workshops, which are still missing, as well as the keys to an official vehicle. These events caused a climate of insecurity among the staff, while there was a departure of services from the checkpoints and a reluctance of private security companies to staff them.
Requests for relaxations from the Veterinary Services are being considered
Due to the unstable situation, the Veterinary Services rejected the requests of the "Voice of Livestock Breeders" for relaxations such as free grazing and breeding movements, clarifying that no relaxation can be given before the pan-Cypriot sampling is completed. However, some of the requests are expected to be discussed within the week, due to the cooperation of the groups that reacted to the killings.
The state's strictness towards violators of biosecurity measures has been relentless. To date, 27 administrative fines have been issued, totalling €91,540, for violations related to illegal movements of animals, feed and manure, as well as for illegal grazing. In addition, 6 serious cases of violations have been registered with the Police for criminal investigation. Two of these complaints concern the person in charge of the farm in Kiti and are related to the illegal movement of cattle, sheep and goats that had already been marked for slaughter.
At the same time, it is noted that on Friday the Council of Ministers approved a proposal by the Minister of Agriculture to tighten the penalties provided for in the Animal Health Law. Specifically, in case of a conviction for non-application of the provisions of the law, the prescribed penalty increases from imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to €3,323, to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to €250,000.
In addition, for cases of trafficking of animals or animal products from areas in which the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control, the penalties are increased from imprisonment of up to 12 months or a fine of up to €8,309, to imprisonment of up to 10 years or a fine of up to €250,000.
Furthermore, in cases where the Director of Veterinary Services has reasonable grounds to believe that a person violates or fails to comply with the provisions of EU and national legislation, the administrative fine is increased from €5,000 to €100,000.
The course of compensation
The Ministry of Agriculture is intensively proceeding with the procedures for compensation.
As far as advance payments are concerned, 74.5% of the affected units have been paid (38 sheep, goat/cattle units and 2 pig farms out of the 55 beneficiaries).
In relation to the milk compensation, 53 out of 59 beneficiaries have been paid (96.6%), while 4 applications were rejected due to discrepancies.
At the same time, 55.5% of the beneficiaries have been paid for animal feed (35 out of 63 units).
The files for 75 of the 77 legal cattle, sheep and goat breeders (97.4%) were prepared with the loss of livestock. So far, 47 of them (61%) have been paid, while 23 cases have discrepancies and will be reassessed.
A serious exception is the case of a pig farmer, whose compensation has been frozen due to a court order. The matter is being handled by the Attorney General of the Republic, who has frozen the amounts in question, and the Senior Advocate of the Republic is considering whether consent will be given to the payment of the amount to him or his creditors.
Surveillance at checkpoints
120 disinfection points with roller baths and automated spraying systems are in full operation throughout the road network. About 20 of them are constantly monitored by the Police, while 15 points are staffed by private security companies. The controls in the slaughterhouses by permanent teams of veterinarians and inspectors, who check the transport approvals, the disinfection of the drivers and the cleaning of the vehicles, are also very strict.
500,000 doses of vaccines arrive today
The next phase of the crisis focuses on shielding healthy animals. The current vaccination rates of the 1st and 2nd dose throughout Cyprus amount to 92%/84% for cattle, 80%/78% for sheep and goats, but only 41%/41% for pigs.
Large deliveries of vaccine preparations are expected in June to meet the needs. Specifically, 500,000 doses of the "Aftovaxpur" preparation (for cattle, goats and sheep) are expected to be received today, while another 500,000 doses of "Aftopor" will be received by the end of the month.
However, the manufacturer company Boehringer Ingelheim declared it unable to supply the necessary vaccine for the SAT1 strain of pigs due to huge global demand, while EU warehouses are also empty. For this reason, the Republic of Cyprus sent an urgent letter to the US, requesting the concession of US stockpiles of unused FMD SAT1 vaccines, with Cyprus fully covering the costs.
