The virus has been confirmed in 11 livestock units in the Larnaca district, with the official announcement so far covering the culling of 14,000 animals. However, the decision on whether to proceed with mass culling or vaccinations will result from meetings between the authorities and veterinarians from the European Commission, whose arrival was expected last night.
The role of the three experts from the European Commission will be decisive in determining whether the Republic of Cyprus will proceed with mass culling of animals to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, or whether it will move forward with vaccinations, without excluding the possibility of a combination of both measures. This was stated on Tuesday before the House Agriculture Committee by the Director of Veterinary Services, Christodoulos Pippis.
The virus has been confirmed in 11 livestock units in the Larnaca district, and the culling of 14,000 animals has been officially announced to date.
Responding to a related question by MPs, Mr Pippis said that following the detection of cases in the north, vaccinations had been carried out since last December after 500,000 doses were sent by the European Union through the Republic of Cyprus.
He stated that in the north there was no culling because there was no capacity to manage it or provision for compensation. Recommendations had been made to the “competent authorities” for culling, but these were rejected on the grounds that they sought to obtain the same status as Turkey in order to justify exports with Turkey. “We were aware of this,” he said.
In response to a remark that vaccination is not considered sufficient in the government controlled areas and why it was deemed sufficient in the north, Mr Pippis said that European Union regulations provide for the culling of animals in positive units, even if only one animal tests positive for the virus.
At the same time, he noted that depending on how the situation evolves, the competent state authority evaluates and decides whether to proceed with culling or vaccinations. He added that the role of the foreign experts would be decisive in these decisions, as they were expected to arrive in Cyprus on Tuesday evening as part of European support.
According to the Veterinary Services, the culling of 260 cows at the first infected unit in Livadia was completed on Tuesday. From Wednesday, the evaluation of animals at other units will begin, starting with the initial ones, in order to proceed with the culling of sheep and goats. Burial sites have already been prepared.