Flock of sheep returned north after straying into buffer zone

A DISPUTED flock of around 50 sheep, which wandered into the buffer zone on Sunday, were back sent to the north, UNFICYP said yesterday.

“A UN officer went to check the sheep yesterday and determined that they were not infected,” a spokesman said yesterday. He said that the sheep belonged to a Turkish Cypriot shepherd and had been sent back to the north.

A row erupted on Sunday when it could not be established whom the sheep belonged to as none of them were marked or tagged. UNFICYP was forced to pen the flock within the buffer zone until the owner could be found.

The green party yesterday criticised the government for failing to implement the law on marking and tagging animals and exposing consumers to possibly infected meat. The non-marking of animals makes it harder to crackdown on animal smuggling from the north, a statement said.

The Veterinary Department was not available for comment yesterday.

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