A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak on the Greek island of Lesbos has forced authorities to cull approximately 90,000 animals over the past six months, destroying one fifth of the island's total livestock population.
Spyros Protopsaltis, the General Secretary of Agricultural Development and Food, confirmed the losses during an exclusive interview on the Greek television show Koinonia Ora MEGA, where he detailed state response measures and financial support for affected farmers.
Protopsaltis described foot-and-mouth disease as an extraordinarily dangerous viral infection that spreads even faster than sheep pox. He said state authorities have been executing European Union eradication protocols on the island since March 15.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral condition affecting cloven-hoofed livestock, including cattle, sheep, and goats. Under European Union animal health frameworks, Category A diseases carry mandatory eradication mandates requiring the slaughter of entire herds when infections are detected, regardless of whether individual animals show symptoms.
Ban on raw meat shipments
To prevent the virus from reaching the Greek mainland or neighboring areas, veterinary authorities have banned all shipments of raw meat off Lesbos. Protopsaltis clarified that the restriction is not a consumer safety precaution, but a veterinary measure to prevent mechanical transmission of the virus through slaughterhouse operations and livestock transport vehicles.
Lesbos is a major agricultural hub in the northeastern Aegean Sea, where livestock farming and dairy production play a central role in the island's economy and local cheese manufacturing.
Financial relief and reconstruction plan
The Greek government has allocated 3.5 million euros to compensate farmers for the financial value of culled animals and 1.5 million euros for lost agricultural income. In addition, 2.5 million euros was provided to local cheese factories for the period they were forced to close due to prohibitions on moving mature cheeses from Lesbos.
Protopsaltis stated that cheese factory operations have since normalized, adding that the per-animal compensation rate offered by Greece is by far the highest in Europe. He announced that additional compensation covering livestock feed expenses and unproduced milk will be distributed within the next month.
Looking beyond immediate emergency aid, Protopsaltis emphasized the necessity of transitioning the livestock sector to a new operational framework. He said an upcoming reconstruction and modernization plan will focus heavily on upgrading agricultural infrastructure and enforcing strict biosecurity protocols across farms.
