Authorities on Monday said that they could not say whether the meat of farm animals believed to have been slaughtered illegally had been sold, but insisted there was no cause for concern as there are no animal diseases making them unsuitable for slaughter.
Police said they are investigating a 65-year-old-man and his two employees for unauthorised slaughter of farm animals and illegal supply to the market after meat with fake stamps of the vet services on it were located in his farm and home.
The meat was located during a police raid at the man’s farm in the Dali industrial area in the Nicosia district on Saturday.
Officers also found 21 carcasses in a truck leaving the farm during the raid. At the farm police located animal waste and knives believed to have been used for the slaughtering of the animals. Eleven carcasses were located in the man’s home and in another establishment owned by the 65-year-old.
All carcasses have been examined by an official of the vet services, which discovered that the stamps on them were fake.
All three suspects are being investigated for a number of offences concerning the laws on animal health, animal welfare and protection, slaughter hygiene and money laundering.
The head of the state vet services, Christodoulos Pipis, said on Monday that the premises are not an illegal slaughterhouse. Instead, the case concerns a person who keeps an animal farm and was carrying out an illegal activity.
He said that meat from the current batch did not end up in the market but that police are investigating whether he has sold meat slaughtered illegally in the past.
“Given current facts, we cannot rule this out,” he said.
Pipis said that the suspect owns a licensed meat cutting facility. The 65-year-old reportedly also owns a butchery.
Pipis said that the suspect had a stamp made, similar to that used by the vet services, and was stamping the meat to appear as if it had been checked by authorities.
Even though meat may have been sold to the market in the past, he said, there was no reason for concern because there is currently no animal disease present in Cyprus making slaughtered animals dangerous for human consumption.
Police have now turned their investigations into the man’s clients to discover if he had accomplices and if meat produced outside the legal way has ended up in shops or restaurants.
Pipis said that there are around 150 licensed meat cutting facilities in Cyprus and that his service carries out regular checks.
He also urged consumers to report irregularities.
According to the law, farmers must inform vet services of their intention to slaughter animals and submit documents including the number of animals and their registration number.
When the animals are taken to the slaughterhouse, authorities make checks to make sure the farmers brought the animals they said they would. The animals then are being checked for any disease and if they are found suitable for meat production, they are slaughtered.
After the slaughter, the carcasses have to checked once more, and if they are found to be suitable for consumption, they are stamped and given the green light to be sold.
If this procedure is not followed, Pipis said, then the meat is deemed as unsuitable for consumption, even if the slaughtered animals were healthy.
