A group of farmers in Pachna, Limassol district, assaulted two female Veterinary Services officers and forcibly stole foot-and-mouth disease samples during a planned sampling operation on Thursday, according to philenews.
The operation had been scheduled to cover five farms in the area, with the farmers’ prior agreement secured the day before. Sampling at the first two farms was completed without incident.
At a third farm, however, a group of protesting farmers gathered and blocked the road, preventing the Veterinary Services team from reaching the property, despite the owner having initially agreed to the inspection.
The most serious incidents occurred at the final two farms. After the two officers completed sampling and attempted to leave, four double-cab vehicles blocked their route. The farmers used physical force against the two officers, seized their car keys and stole the collected samples before fleeing.
Limassol Police Director Stelios Aristeidou confirmed a complaint had been filed and is under investigation. He also clarified that the Veterinary Services had not requested a police escort for the day’s sampling operation.
The Veterinary Services warned that without cooperation from farmers, the virus would spread uncontrollably. “As long as there is no cooperation from farmers, the virus will advance unchecked. There is an immediate and serious risk that, with such extreme behaviour, livestock units will fill with foot-and-mouth disease, driving the sector to total destruction,” the Veterinary Services said.
The authorities said that refusal to allow inspections and destruction of samples effectively blinds disease prevention mechanisms. If the virus spreads in the area, the consequences for the economy, domestic production and farmers themselves would be irreversible, with the prospect of mass animal culling now more likely than ever, they warned.