Everyone who was entitled to compensation for the culling of animals due to foot-and-mouth disease has already been compensated, the Director of Veterinary Services, Christodoulos Pipis, told CNA in response to earlier statements made by a representative of livestock farmers, also to CNA.
The President of “The Voice of Livestock Farmers,” Neophytos Neophytou, had told CNA that compensation payments to four livestock farmers are still pending, while three others had received only 10–15% of what they were entitled to.
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Mr. Pipis said that only three owners of four farms had not been compensated, and he had personally informed them that their compensation could not be processed. As he explained, any decision regarding compensation by the Veterinary Services must be lawful, as stated in the Legal Service’s opinion, which sets forth the framework for interpreting the provisions of the law.
“Due to the discrepancies observed at these farms regarding the animal population as reported by the farmers themselves, the animals we found during the on-site inspection prior to culling, and their ownership status, a decision was made regarding whether or not to provide compensation,” he stated.
“Those who are entitled to compensation under the law have already been compensated. Both the Minister and I have stated this repeatedly,” he said, noting that the Agency cannot proceed with compensation outside the framework of the law.
As for the livestock farmers who received compensation amounting to only 10–15% of what they expected to receive, Mr. Pipis said that it was for the same reason that the others were not compensated.
As he explained, there were cases where either far fewer animals were found than had been declared on the farm—without any justification for their absence—or where animals were kept on the farms in excess of the permitted number. In other cases, a large number of undeclared animals were found, as well as animals that were not tagged.
He also noted that the Veterinary Services could not have been aware of the discrepancies between the declared animals and those actually found. “Every livestock farmer is responsible for declaring the size of his herd and for keeping the information regarding his farm up to date at all times, regarding the number of animals present on the farm and the number moved either to or from the farm, or to slaughter,” he said.
“The population registered in the Veterinary Services’ database had to correspond to the actual number of animals on their farm,” he noted.
Regarding the placement of animals on farms for the resumption of operations, Mr. Pipis rejected the farmers’ claim that this is scheduled to begin on September 1.
As he explained, “This has not been determined. The reactivation of livestock farmers is an issue that will be finalized in consultation with Mr. Malas’s team, which has undertaken the study on the reconstruction of the livestock sector and the resumption of operations by livestock farmers, in conjunction with determining whether the affected livestock farmers have carried out the required cleaning of their farms, their disinfection, the removal of manure, and its proper management, so that it can be safely spread on fields for fertilization purposes.”
Responding to claims of delays in resuming operations, he said that the 4- to 5-month period that has elapsed is reasonable, given the scope of the work that needs to be done.
“No timeline has been set yet; we are starting on September 1,” he said, emphasizing that it depends not only on whether each individual farmer has taken the necessary steps, but also on the surrounding farms, in order to prevent any recurrence of the disease. “All parties involved in the surrounding area must be at the same health standard so that we can move the process forward and bring it to a successful conclusion,” he noted.
When asked whether livestock farmers have taken these steps, he said that a significant number of them have already implemented these measures. “We are working at the district level in Larnaca and Nicosia to verify the process on a case-by-case and region-by-region basis so that the relocation of the animals can begin,” he said.
He added that veterinary service officials are coordinating with livestock farmers and conducting on-site inspections to verify their compliance, so that the process can move forward.
Subsequently, once the farms have been disinfected, sentinel animals will be placed on the farms for a period of at least 40 days, to verify and confirm that there is no live virus on the farm that could reinfect the animals that are about to be introduced.
When asked when this process is expected to begin, he said it is anticipated to start around the end of September.
Mr. Pipis also addressed the question of whether the animals to be placed must be vaccinated or not. As he said, this will be decided by scientists, based on what the protocols stipulate.
As he explained, “introducing unvaccinated animals provides a more objective way to confirm that the area is completely safe and that there is no live, infectious wild-type virus present. “We want to ensure that the farms set to resume operations are disinfected, sanitized, and pose no risk of infecting the animals that will be placed there,” he said.
He noted, however, that whether vaccinated or unvaccinated animals are placed will also depend on their availability.
