A decision to take additional measures, including the 24-hour monitoring of crossing points from the occupied to the free areas, in order to ensure the disinfection of vehicles, was taken on Monday during a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment on the recent foot-and-mouth disease incidents. The meeting was chaired by the competent Minister, Maria Panayiotou, with the participation of officials and relevant bodies.
In statements after the meeting, the Director of the Veterinary Services, Christodoulos Pipis, said that following the measures taken to date by the regarding the foot-and-mouth disease, which has broken out in the occupied areas, an additional meeting was held Monday at the Ministry of Agriculture., During the meeting it was decided that, in addition to the measures taken to date by the Veterinary Services, there will be 24-hour monitoring at the crossing points from the occupied to the free areas in order to ensure the disinfection of vehicles.
He added that it was also decided to intensify checks by Veterinary Services staff, which, he said, had already been intensified since the day the incident was announced, “in order to ensure that there will be no incidents in the livestock farms that exist throughout the ceasefire line.”
He further noted that it was decided to establish additional communication with the British bases’ authorities, the police, the army, and additionally with the farmers’ groups, in order to strengthen surveillance measures along the Green Line to prevent any illegal activity from and to the occupied areas.
He also said that a guide with guidelines on the operation of disinfection areas for vehicles on their farms, as well as in livestock zones, would be made available to livestock farmers, and that there will be further communication with the Australian authorities on the matter in order to ensure that the haloumi shipments currently en route to Australia are accepted.
He further stated that, in addition to the above, it has already been decided to set up a committee comprising representatives of the Veterinary Services and one representative from each group of animal care professionals, namely cattle farmers, sheep and goat farmers, pig farmers and, in addition, cheese makers, in order to continuously monitor the issue and coordinate the taking of any necessary measures.
He also clarified that no other country has shown any intention of imposing any restrictions or trade measures against Cyprus in relation to this specific incident, adding that there is ongoing communication with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and the World Organisation for Animal Health, and that there will also be communication with the FAO on the issue.
Asked how the Veterinary Services receive updates on the situation in the occupied areas, Pipis said that all information comes from the print media or via the internet and various online communication systems available to citizens.
Asked whether the visit by the four European Union experts had yielded any noteworthy findings, Pipis said that the visit of the European Union experts demonstrated the correctness of the Veterinary Services’ handling of the whole incident and, specifically, that we should currently focus on the farms that exist in the areas controlled by the Republic along the ceasefire line, “which is precisely where we have focused our efforts and with whom we are in contact to implement even stricter measures regarding the control of any personnel passing through these farms.”
Asked whether the disease could affect animals other than cattle, Pipis said that the disease only affects animals with cloven hooves, such as cows, goats, sheep, and pigs.
“It does not affect any other animal species and, more importantly, it does not affect humans, for whom it is of no significance in terms of public health,” he stressed.