Chaos erupted in Pachna early yesterday morning following the confirmation of the first positive case of foot-and-mouth disease in the village. Local livestock farmers organized blockades to prevent Veterinary Services personnel from enforcing containment protocols, which require the culling of all animals within an infected unit.
The protesting farmers demanded an immediate halt to diagnostic sampling and blocked all access roads to local animal holdings. Pachna presents a complex containment challenge for authorities, as it hosts more than 40 closely situated livestock units holding an estimated 15,000 sheep and goats.
Attacks on veterinary staff and journalists
Tensions peaked early in the day when a group of farmers used vehicles to intercept veterinary officers en route to conduct five scheduled samplings. Officials successfully completed two collections before being blocked from a third. In two subsequent instances, farmers assaulted officers who had already collected samples, confiscating the medical specimens and the keys to their official vehicles.
The Limassol District Police Commander attended an emergency meeting on site to review the security situation, noting that the police had not been requested to escort the veterinary teams initially. The Limassol Police Headquarters has since developed an operational plan involving rapid-response units and specialized water cannon deployment to counter any further escalation. The blockades were temporarily lifted at midday, though farmers maintained their demands.
Members of the press were also targeted during the unrest. Television crews from the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and private networks faced verbal abuse and threats. Protesters explicitly warned journalists against taking photographs or filming video footage near the blockades, permitting coverage only during a formal briefing at the Pachna Community Council.
Professional backlash and protocol enforcement
In response to the violence, the Cyprus Veterinary Association warned of immediate strike action. The association declared that the safety of veterinarians and support staff remains non-negotiable, threatening to withdraw from all foot-and-mouth disease management duties, including sampling, vaccinations, culling and compensation procedures, unless robust security measures are guaranteed.
The farm owner at the centre of the outbreak requested a suspension of the culling order, suggesting that the positive test results might have been triggered by a second vaccine dose administered 16 days prior to testing, rather than an active infection. However, the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that standard regulatory protocols will be strictly enforced. Officials stated that no unilateral exceptions can be made to the established disease-control legislation.
The Ministry of Agriculture has scheduled a joint meeting with farmers and agricultural unions on Monday to de-escalate the situation through dialogue. The Ministry’s Director General warned that resisting health protocols significantly heightens the risk of viral transmission, threatening wider devastation to the national livestock sector and the broader economy.
