One in five foot-and-mouth compensation claims shows discrepancies

Economy animal welfareAnimalsfoot-and-mouthTop News One in five foot-and-mouth compensation claims shows discrepancies One In Five Foot And Mouth Compensation Claims Shows Discrepancies Relevant News One in five foot-and-mouth compensation claims shows discrepancies 6 August 2026 Cyprus records eighth-hottest July since 1968 6 August 2026 Things to do on Thursday, August 6 6 August 2026 Angelos Nicolaou 6 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Compensation payments to farmers affected by foot-and-mouth disease eradication measures are moving forward, even as some applications show discrepancies. Following a legal opinion from the Law Office, the Veterinary Services will now examine the outstanding beneficiary cases so that payments can proceed. The Veterinary Services director referred the matter to the Law Office after assessment committees identified serious breaches of veterinary legislation during inspections, asking whether farmers whose animals were culled under foot-and-mouth measures are entitled to compensation when such breaches are found. Of 121 holdings assessed, two were illegal operations involving local-breed animals, specifically fat-tailed sheep and red cattle in Dromolaxia. A total of 117 files have been prepared, including pig farms. Of these, 100 files for cattle, sheep/goat and pig farm owners have been signed following the Law Office opinion, and payment is proceeding. However, 23 owners out of the 117 holdings, representing 20% of the total number of culled units, showed discrepancies and were notified by letter that their files are under review and will be reassessed by the Veterinary Services. Specifically, the following issues were identified: Discrepancies between the actual number of animals on farms and the numbers declared in the database Undeclared animal movements and gaps in identification tagging Animals kept at livestock trading holdings beyond the legal 29-day limit The Veterinary Services said these breaches affect traceability and may have contributed to the spread of the disease, raising the question of whether the farmers involved are entitled to state compensation. Legal interpretation of Article 11(5) Elena Symeonidou, Senior Counsel of the Republic, set out in her opinion the interpretation of Article 11(5) of the Animal Health Law (109(I)/2001). For a farmer to be denied compensation, it must be objectively proven that the slaughter or destruction of the animals was made necessary by the violation itself. In this case, the opinion found that the cull was ordered because of foot-and-mouth infection, not because of failures to maintain traceability records. An administrative or criminal violation therefore does not automatically result in loss of the right to compensation, unless a causal link is established. How the eight key questions were answered 1. Do the violations affect the right to compensation? Is proof of causal link required?Full proof is required that the violation caused the cull. If it cannot be shown that the violation led to the infection, compensation is paid. However, if it is shown that an illegal movement from farm A infected farm B, both lose compensation. Animals without identification tags are also culled as a risk and are not compensated where a farm is found to have unmarked animals in breach of the law. 2. Can compensation be excluded due to a high degree or systematic nature of the discrepancy?No. The law does not set a discrepancy threshold as grounds for denying compensation. A large discrepancy is considered only as an aggravating factor when imposing an administrative fine, or by a court when sentencing in the event of criminal prosecution. 3. What evidence is sufficient for discrepancies above 50-70%?No threshold is set in advance. The principle of proving a causal link between the violation and the necessity of the cull applies. Denial of compensation could only be justified if the evidence collected shows the cull was necessary because of the violation of the Law, Regulations or Orders. 4. Does the exclusion justify the failure to declare movements that hinders traceability?No. Compensation restores the financial loss from mandatory measures imposed because of the virus. Changing this would require the state to amend Article 11(5). Since the cull in this case was made necessary by the flocks’ foot-and-mouth infection, regardless of any other regulatory breaches, denial of compensation cannot be justified without that causal link. 5. Can compensation be partially excluded depending on severity?This is covered by the answers to questions 1 and 2 above; the causal-link rule applies. 6. Does exclusion apply across the board or only to animals linked to the violation?No answer was required, as no evidence was submitted linking the cull to the violation. 7. Are animals kept at livestock trading holdings beyond 29 days eligible for compensation?Under legislation (KDP 94/2012), such animals should already have been removed. If animals are found to have been born at such holdings in breach of the rules, they are seized and culled without compensation, and the holding’s operator is reported. 8. How are such animals treated if found eligible?Fully covered by the answer to question 7. Sanctions and legislative changes The legal opinion makes clear that not withholding compensation does not amount to an amnesty for violators. The Veterinary Services have been called on to exercise their powers, including imposing administrative fines of up to €5,000 or referring cases for criminal prosecution. The Law Office has also indicated to the relevant ministries that, should they wish for future breaches of traceability rules to automatically result in loss of compensation, they would need to submit an amending bill, which would be examined in light of the principle of proportionality. 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