Sheep and goat farmers in the village of Pelopi are growing increasingly desperate as they watch their flocks – and livelihoods – being decimated. They say the veterinary service approved the culling before they were even informed. [PANAGIOTIS BALASKAS ]
Since no common front has emerged and no solution has been found, the army is now being called in to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. Rural Development and Food Minister Margaritis Schinas seemed almost to have predicted it. “The situation is very difficult, and the stakes are many and significant, with implications that go beyond the island of Lesvos. There are responsibilities for how we got here, and they will be assigned when the time comes. But what matters now is to put together a disciplined army, to build a shield to eradicate the disease,” he said several months ago.
Now, under an amendment submitted Tuesday night to a bill sponsored by the Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the army is taking over operational command of the response to foot-and-mouth disease. An officer will have overall responsibility for animal culling, mass burials, disinfection, enforcement of containment measures and the delineation of protection zones.
