‘The government did not send the necessary veterinarians in time, did not ensure adequate biosecurity measures and did not protect production,’ the party said.

It added: ‘The deputy minister visited Lesvos only once, without result, and at the Regional Council hid behind the “lack of signal”. The ministry spoke of three slaughterhouses being open, while only one was operating. Livestock farmers were in tears as they watched their herds, their income and their lives being destroyed.’

‘The army can assist with personnel and resources. It cannot replace veterinarians, scientific knowledge and the plan the government did not have,’ E.L.A.S. said.

The statement in full:

‘Six months after the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the government is handing operational coordination of the crisis to an Armed Forces officer and threatening disciplinary sanctions against employees who fail to comply with orders.

Militarisation is not a solution. It is an admission of failure.

The government did not send the necessary veterinarians in time, did not ensure adequate biosecurity measures and did not protect production. The deputy minister visited Lesvos only once, without result, and at the Regional Council hid behind the “lack of signal”. The ministry spoke of three slaughterhouses being open, while only one was operating. Livestock farmers were in tears as they watched their herds, their income and their lives being destroyed.

The army can assist with personnel and resources. It cannot replace veterinarians, scientific knowledge and the plan the government did not have.

At the same time, the €3 million allocated to the Region does not constitute compensation for producers and does not make up for the losses they have suffered.

The government claims that vaccination would damage exports and the production chain. Yet Cyprus, as a member state of the same European Union, carried out vaccinations, managed the health restrictions and protected its production chain without losing its exports.

Why is what happened in Cyprus being presented as impossible for Lesvos?

When the government wants to impose restrictions, it invokes Europe. When a European country implements a different and more effective policy, it forgets Europe and presents mass culling as the only option.

E.L.A.S., which has stood alongside livestock farmers from the outset and has remained in constant contact with the Pallesvian Primary Sector Association, demands:

  • immediate staffing of veterinary services
  • implementation of a vaccination programme
  • free biosecurity measures
  • full compensation for animals and lost income
  • a public programme to rebuild herds and restart livestock farms

If the herds are lost, it is not only livestock farmers’ incomes that disappear. The raw material for cheese producers, jobs and Lesvos’s productive base are also lost.

It is not Europe’s fault. It is not the farmers’ fault. It is the government’s political choice to insist on culling and hide its failure behind the army.’

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