“We need a strict punitive framework and road controls to catch violators – this is the only way to contain the sheep and goat pox outbreak” stated Pavlos Satolias speaking on Friday morning (26/9) on Parapolitika 90.1. The president of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kalavryta Greece and the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, speaking on the show “First Plan” with journalist Alexandros Klossa, emphasized that “people don’t stop at disinfection points – only 1 in 1,000 stops. We should be mandatorily stopping cars passing through affected areas for spraying”.
Sheep and goat pox: Satolias warning on Parapolitika 90.1 about devastating consequences for livestock and food supply
Regarding the sheep and goat pox outbreak and increased cases, Mr. Satolias said: “Things are not good – this is a very difficult situation that, if we don’t address it, will lead to very serious and negative consequences throughout the entire production chain. Since August ’24 when we had the first case in Thrace, we didn’t move as quickly as we should have. We had a lull throughout winter and the Easter period with slaughtering and animal movements – which is the most significant cause of spread – measures were relaxed and from there it reached all of Greece. Now there are some outbreaks in Thessaly, Western Achaia, and Eastern Macedonia, which aren’t being contained because this is a very difficult disease with a very high transmission rate and the virus remains alive for a very long time, which is why it’s hard to combat. We must do the impossible – there needs to be more intensive disease monitoring and then perhaps a lockdown. We must end this immediately because entering winter, if we continue like this, we’ll have disaster for livestock farming and major damage for consumers and the food chain”
He added: “We need a strict punitive framework and road controls to catch violators because this is the only way to contain the disease” and noted that “We don’t just need announced measures – we must monitor whether they’re being followed. People don’t stop at disinfection points for disinfection – only 1 in 1,000 stops, it can’t work this way. We should somehow be mandatorily stopping cars passing through affected areas for spraying, but it’s not happening”.
Finally, regarding subsidies, the president of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kalavryta Greece and the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives said: “The agricultural community is in turmoil and distress. Production costs have increased, the halting and freezing of aid to honest farmers who bear no responsibility for the scandal – because many payments have been delayed and created economic asphyxiation for farmers – all this creates insecurity, difficulty, and worst of all, it creates a negative environment for farmers’ future”.
