Serres: Animal diseases wipe out 1/5 of the animals – Another 10,000 will be led to slaughter because of pox

1/5 of the livestock of the Regional Unit of Serres has been mislaid the past years from successive waves of pox, lumpy tegument illness and bluetongue. At the aforesaid time, successful the past 4th much than 20,000 sheep and goats person already been killed (up until past week) and different 10,000 are expected to beryllium slaughtered successful the coming days, arsenic they tested affirmative for pox.

“From August and after, the concern wholly got retired of hand. The fig of cases skyrocketed and 130 families are near without animals, without work, without income,” said the president of the Panserraic Livestock Association, Elpida Sidiropoulou, speaking to APE-MPE, describing the standard of the destruction. “Dozens of livestock farmers are successful despair. Their herds person been slaughtered, and those who are near are surviving with the fearfulness that they are next. The prefecture is successful a captious situation,” she added.

The economical losses, arsenic Mrs Sidiropoulou underlined, magnitude to galore millions of euro, since producers bash not lone suffer animals, but their full productive base: milk, lambs and aboriginal prospects. For afloat re-building of a herd, astatine slightest 2 years are required.

“Eight retired of 10 livestock farmers are with 1 ft retired of the sector, either due to the fact that they are 60–65 years aged and 1 measurement earlier retirement, oregon due to the fact that they cannot endure anymore without authorities enactment and compensation,” the president of the Panserraic Livestock Association said.

She explained that transmission of pox seems to dilatory down with the accomplishment of acold and rain, arsenic it has been observed that the illness hits the plains much and the mountainous areas less. “The upwind is our lone state close now. If the rains had not come, the dispersed would person been retired of control,” she noted.

Ten years of shrinkage

Ten years ago, successful Serres R.U. determination were astir 350,000 sheep/goats and cattle. Today, according to the Association’s data, they are 60,000 less — a illness owed not lone to pox but besides to lumpy tegument illness and bluetongue, and the inclination remains downward.

Mrs Sidiropoulou emphasized that livestock farmers are requesting “immediate outgo of compensations” and disagree with the stance of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, which insists — arsenic she said — “on eradicating the illness without vaccinations”. She added that they are waiting “holding their breath” for the submission of Action Plan 2 by the Greek authorities to the Commission.

The proposal, which volition beryllium submitted time (Tuesday, 4 November) concerns the instauration of a reliable strategy of power and absorption of cultivation subsidies. Its support volition unfastened the roadworthy for the outgo of the basal enactment for 2025, portion — arsenic Mrs Sidiropoulou characteristically said — “if it is not approved, we volition unrecorded the infinitesimal that volition termination beingness successful the sector.”

“If determination is nary important authorities enactment and contiguous support of Action Plan 2, we are talking astir collapse,” she said characteristically and added that “pox is nary longer conscionable a disease, but different beardown stroke to a assemblage that has been bleeding for years.”