Typos

Farmers Protest Animal Culling Over Foot-and-Mouth Disease Handling

Published March 21, 2026, 17:18
Farmers Protest Animal Culling Over Foot-and-Mouth Disease Handling

Farmers held a protest outside the Presidential Palace today, expressing strong dissatisfaction with the handling of the foot-and-mouth disease situation by the Veterinary Services. The protest took a symbolic form with the placement of a black coffin on a car, indicating their grief and despair over the mass culling of healthy animals, as well as the arrests of their colleagues. The farmers are protesting the culling of animals before the completion of the second vaccination (28 days) and accuse unjustified differences in the treatment of the disease between the government-controlled areas and the occupied territories, where, they claim, cheese factories are funded by the EU. They believe that the European Union applies double standards, unfairly disadvantaging farmers in the government-controlled areas. A three-member delegation of protesters met with the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Andreas Grigoriou, where they discussed their problems. Mr. Grigoriou explained the measures taken by the government to deal with the disease and the compensation that will be given, while committing to further discussion and cooperation. However, the farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, as they believe their demands are not being met. They insist on the immediate cessation of culling, raise issues regarding measures taken on the Green Line, and accuse a lack of compliance with EU decrees. They express fears for the future of livestock farming in Cyprus and state that they are in a desperate situation.