Foot-and-Mouth Disease: Allegations of Selective Compensation and Farmers' Reactions

Farmers are planning strong reactions following their recent protest at the Ministry of Agriculture regarding the impact of foot-and-mouth disease. Farmer Stella Petrou stated that the next steps will be decided next Wednesday, even considering blocking roads to the Airport, Ports, and Rizoelia, ahead of the informal meeting of European leaders in Cyprus.

Ms. Petrou alleged that very few farmers have received compensation, implying that payments were selectively made to organizations with good relations with the government. She also mentioned that no animal culling is taking place in the occupied territories, unlike the practice followed in Cyprus due to EU requirements.

Responding to the allegations, the Spokesperson of the Veterinary Services, Sotiria Georgiadou, assured that the compensations were not given with restrictive criteria and that all those entitled will be paid.