With 28 “test” animals, Father Christos’s farm in Pachna is resuming operations, six months after his animals were culled due to foot-and-mouth disease and following the necessary disinfection procedures.
The priest’s livestock farm is the first to receive the “green light” and resume operations following the outbreak of the disease.
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Father Christos is accepting the animals with caution, as new samples are to be taken in the coming days, out of fear that they might become ill.
“For the next 30 to 40 days, as our animals will bear witness, we too will bear witness alongside them. We pray to God that He will see to it that everything goes well for us and for the whole world, which is now trying to start over.”
When asked about the cost, he stated that he paid for it himself without any assistance from the government.
The President of “The Voice of Livestock Farmers,” Neophytos Neophytou, noting that it appears we are on the verge of leaving foot-and-mouth disease behind us.
“We want to see animals being brought into the remaining facilities within the next few days so that the livestock sector can recover, which will also benefit our halloumi.”
He also sent a message to the Minister of Agriculture to discuss the issue of rebuilding the farms affected by foot-and-mouth disease.
Mr. Neophytou points out that most livestock farmers want to resume operations, but there is a difficulty in locating “control” animals, that is, young animals, as farmers who could provide them are afraid due to the sampling being conducted, fearing that their animals might test positive for the disease and be culled.
