ANIMAL grazers yesterday gathered outside Limassol Port to prevent the entry into the country of approximately 1,000 animals imported from Bulgaria via Pireaus Port.
The protesters say the imports jeopardise the sustainability of the local market, and claim they are of low quality and do not meet regulations.
“Many of these animals are dead already,” said animal grazer Aristos Andreou. “They keep them locked up and will not show them to us. How do we know they won’t chop them up and sell the meat in supermarkets?” Andreou asked.
Following the call of the animal grazers’ trade unions to show good faith, the entry was allowed and the animals transported to a farm in Kornos village in the Larnaca district. The animals will remain there for 30 days, so that extensive checks can be performed to evaluate their condition. If the animals are found unfit by Veterinary Services, the department confirmed that they would be sent back to Bulgaria.
“In co-operation with the Veterinary Services, we must conduct thorough checks to ascertain if the information in the papers is correct,” said DISY MP Kyriakos Hadiyiannis, General Secretary of Panagrotikos.
“If we see any inconsistencies, then there will be a diplomatic issue, questioning our co-operation with Bulgaria. The issue must then be placed before the European Commission,” he added.
“We do believe the Veterinary Services are doing their job properly, but there are loopholes in the checking system, which must be improved. We will put the issue before Parliament,” Hadiyiannis said.
In addition to their opposition to animal imports, the animal grazers’ frustration was further fuelled by the belief that yesterday’s imports were of questionable health and that their entry into the country puts their own animals at risk.
From an initial check at Limassol Port performed in the presence of trade union representatives to evaluate the welfare of the animals and the conditions under which they were transported, it was found that a number of the animals had already perished and that the live animals appeared older than the age stated in their accompanying papers.
“Two trucks carrying sheep and lambs were checked, and just by looking at them we could tell that they could not be three months old as is stated in their papers,” said Panikos Hambas, Secretary of EKA, AKEL’s trade union organisation for the farming sector.
“We asked experienced animal grazers to come and give us a second opinion and they confirmed that the animals are between one and two years old. They cannot be three months old as they have horns,” Hambas added.
“Today we showed our good intentions, we did not cause trouble, but we will not allow meat to be imported, as was the case ten days ago, when they said they imported chicken, and sheep arrived,” said animal grazer Evagoras Pissiaras.
“The Cypriot consumer ate this meat chopped up, and the meat that arrived today will also be chopped up, placed in display windows and sold as Cypriot meat,” Pissiaras added.
