Four Slovak vets arrive to aid culling efforts

Four Slovak veterinarians have arrived in Cyprus and been given temporary licences to practice on the island as part of efforts to expedite the process of culling livestock amid an ongoing outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

The veterinary council confirmed on Tuesday morning that the temporary licences have been granted, and that the Cypriot veterinary services department may now “utilise the assistance of the colleagues for the implementation of vaccinations, the carrying out of sampling, the conduct of epidemiological investigations”.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Slovak embassy in Nicosia told the Cyprus Mail that the veterinarians had been sent to the island after the country’s Agriculture Minister Richard Takac had offered their services to his Cypriot counterpart Maria Panayiotou.

They also confirmed that the Slovak veterinarians will be tasked with assisting in culling efforts.

Of the letter, they said that Takac “expressed his support and solidarity with the Republic of Cyprus” in the aftermath of the outbreak, and pointed out that Slovakia has “faced a similar challenge” since March last year.

“Through the coordinated efforts of all competent authorities, [Slovakia] successfully managed to prevent the further spread of the disease and mitigate its adverse impact on farmers,” they said.

As such, they added, Takac had “offered to share with the Cypriot authorities the knowledge, expertise and practical experience gained by Slovakia in addressing this situation”.

Earlier on Tuesday, veterinary services department spokeswoman Sotiria Georgiadou had said that no new cases of foot and mouth disease had been identified since Monday, and that three- and ten-kilometre exclusion zones have been demarcated following the detection of the disease in Yeri and Dhali, in the Nicosia district.

She told the Cyprus News Agency that it is “worrying” that the disease has spread, having initially only been detected in the Larnaca district.

Later in the day, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis was asked whether there is a risk of foot and mouth disease spreading beyond the Larnaca and Nicosia districts, and said that there is “certainly this concern”.

“As long as the protocols, the procedures which scientists have drawn up … are not fully and faithfully implemented, the risk is visible,” he said.

He added that “what they have stated about a strictly scientific issue, even if an attempt was made to turn it into a political one, is that the surest way, the shortest way to overcome this major crisis is the complete and timely implementation of the protocols and procedures”.

He also highlighted the nine-point support package for farmers announced by President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday, which will cost the taxpayer €28 million, saying that the government “will do what it must to stand by, to support, those affected by this crisis”.