The spread of foot-and-mouth disease to 38 livestock units in the Larnaca district has confronted the Cypriot government with a stark dilemma: continue mass animal culling or unilaterally halt it — at the risk of being expelled from the EU Single Market.
Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou was unequivocal before the parliamentary committee: “A unilateral decision would result in Cyprus being excluded from the Single Market.” The repercussions, she stressed, would extend beyond dairy products to affect the movement of people, tourism, and all trade.
Already 35% of the cattle population falls within the 10-kilometre restriction zone. Agricultural organisations are pushing to invoke the PDO status of halloumi as a force majeure argument. EKA Secretary General Panikos Hambas demanded a halt to culling and a full shift to vaccination.
However, Regulation 2020/687 stipulates that vaccination without culling requires a special derogation — otherwise Cypriot products are classified as “contaminated” on the international market.
The government is anxiously awaiting the European Commission’s response following President Christodoulides’ appeal to Ursula von der Leyen. Meanwhile, 238,000 vaccine doses have been administered, 500 officials are deployed round the clock, and 99 disinfection baths and 27 automated sanitisation systems are operating in high-risk zones.
Behind the numbers are human tragedies. A farmer who watched 2,000 of his animals slaughtered in a single day told parliament: “I had an income of €100,000 a month and now I have nothing.”
The opposition accuses the government of unacceptable crisis management and delays, given that the first cases were detected in the occupied territories last December.
