One more shepherd has been arrested in northern Greece for allegedly letting his sheep graze outdoors despite a ban due to the sheep and goat pox epidemic that’s battering the country’s livestock breeding industry.
The 50-year-old man was charged with breaches of the public health measures after being found with his 400 animals outside their pen in the Langadas area east of Thessaloniki.
Dozens of such arrests have been made in recent months, as it is forbidden to let flocks outdoors in areas hit by the disease, which is not harmful to humans.
The outbreak has led to more than 481,000 animals being culled since August 2024, as under current protocols that forbid vaccination a single case of the pox leads to the entire herd being slaughtered.Â
The measures are designed to prevent the further spread of the disease and protect Greek feta cheese exports, worth about €1 billion annually. Livestock breeders have called for the government to allow vaccinations, a path that European Union officials have also recommended.