Officials plead for change of plan to stop killer livestock disease

Regional authorities connected Lesvos person appealed to the authorities to let “targeted” vaccinations to stop the deadly foot-and-mouth livestock illness that’s causing havoc with the northeastern Aegean Sea island’s economy.

In a missive to the Rural Development Ministry, the determination authoritative liable for cultivation policy, Anastassia Antonelli, warned that the existent attack to the occupation isn’t working, threatening the “total collapse” of livestock breeding connected Lesvos.

According to ministry data, since the highly contagious illness broke retired successful mid-March, 76 cases person been confirmed and adjacent to 20,000 sheep, goats and cattle person been culled.

Government officials person so acold resisted calls for vaccinations to stop the spread of the disease, arguing that this would harm Greek dairy exports. Instead, they importune connected slaughtering full herds where a single lawsuit is confirmed, and implementing strict restrictions connected question of animals and dairy products.

In her letter, Antonelli argued that a caller attack is required.

“Despite the biosecurity measures, the situation … is continuously deteriorating,” she said. “Everything indicates that the signifier of culling … has not succeeded successful stopping the spread of the disease.”

“While there’s a menace of the livestock-breeding sector, and the full economy, of our land collapsing, there appears to beryllium nary anticipation of eradicating oregon adjacent checking the spread of foot-and-mouth,” she added. 

She called for ministry officials to see a targeted vaccination run and submit the connection to European Union authorities “to prevention what tin beryllium saved and debar a wide financial, κοινωνικά and demographic illness connected Lesvos.”

So far, the disease, which affects sheep, goats, cattle and pigs, arsenic well arsenic wildlife, has been contained to Lesvos.

Livestock farming is traditionally the backbone of agrarian Greece’s economy. Together with the country’s archetypal outbreak of foot-and-mouth illness successful much than a quarter-century, farmers are struggling to grip an epidemic of sheep and goat pox that has led to astir fractional a cardinal animals being slaughtered since August 2024.

Neither illness affects humans.

Again with the 2nd epidemic, authorities officials person rejected pleas for a vaccination campaign. They reason that connected the 1 manus there’s nary EU-approved vaccine – unlike successful the lawsuit of foot-and-mouth – and connected the different allowing vaccinations would endanger feta food exports that are worth astir €1 cardinal annually.