Dispute over compensation for animals culled due to foot-and-mouth disease

Neofytos Neofytou, president of the 'Voice of Livestock Farmers' association, has criticized the Veterinary Services for failing to pay compensation to seven livestock farms that culled their animals to combat foot-and-mouth disease. Neofytou argues that these farms were fully compliant with regulations and collaborated with authorities to curb the disease, yet now face financial hardship. He also alleged that current restrictive measures are causing additional animal deaths due to prolonged confinement.

In response, Christodoulos Pipis, director of the Veterinary Services, stated that each case was reviewed individually based on legal advice from the Attorney General’s Office. According to Pipis, compensation has been successfully issued to three of the seven farms, while the remaining cases do not meet the legal criteria for payment, preventing the approval of further funds.