After dead pigs were found in Meniko last week, there is no danger of contaminated meat ending up on the market, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said on Sunday.

“ Our first concern after the incident was discovered was to ensure that there was no threat to public health .

That is why all the animals housed there were immediately collected. The veterinary services are carrying out the necessary checks and of course this is also something we are checking in cooperation with our farmers," said Panayiotou.

On Friday, dead pigs were discovered in the village, some carcasses lying exposed, others partially buried.

When asked if the animals were sick, the minister replied that the veterinary service had detected an illness. "But at the moment we are talking about a practice that can occur in any unit," she said.

However, the veterinary service stated that there was no risk that the disease could be detected in commercially available meat.

A vaccination plan usually means the disease is kept under control and monitored. "But this time we are talking about a case from a specific breeder. We are not talking about a large-scale incident," she added.

The minister stressed that it was the farmer's responsibility to inform the relevant authorities so that the dead animals could be collected. However, this did not happen.
The legal measures against such behavior would also be enforced, she added.

The veterinary service said on Tuesday that no complaints had been received about pigs abandoned in the Nicosia village of Meniko last week.

According to her own statements, the Green Party MP had repeatedly denounced the operating conditions of the breeding facility in question to the veterinary service on Saturday and visited the site at least three times.

The incident in Meniko was not a random case, but rather evidence of the inaction of the responsible authorities, it said. The incident is an example of the "long-term environmental and health destruction in the region".

However, the veterinary service stated that “based on the correspondence recorded in the official files, there has been no report in connection with this livestock farm” – neither from the Greens nor from anyone else.

In addition, the veterinary service clarified that the violations did not concern laws relating to the health of the animals, the conditions of keeping the animals or the pork, but rather to animal husbandry issues. The farm managers had violated veterinary and environmental laws by improperly handling pig carcasses, which is why investigations had been launched, it said.

Although the incident violated veterinary and environmental laws, it did not pose a threat to public or human health, the report said.

On Sunday it was confirmed that there was no risk of the pigs suffering from any disease in the meat available on the market.

"But this time we are talking about the case of a single breeder. It is not a large-scale incident," said Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou . She stressed that it was the farmer's responsibility to inform the authorities so that they could collect the dead animals, but this had not happened.

Last Friday, illegally dumped dead pigs were discovered in Meniko; some carcasses were exposed, others were partially buried.

According to Christodoulos Pipis, director of the State Veterinary Service, the law requires livestock owners to properly dispose of animal byproducts, including carcasses and waste.

Investigations into the extent of the violations are ongoing.










Source:CyprusMail.com
Author: Johanna Pauls