Greece bans sheep, goats' slaughter, movement to control ruminant plague outbreak

ATHENS

Greece banned the slaughter and movements of sheep and goats across the country on Monday as part of a major effort to control the outbreak of “goat plague,” a highly contagious and acute viral infection among cattle.

In response to the detection of small ruminant plague cases in the provinces of Larissa and Corinth, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food issued a statement prohibiting the movement of sheep and goats for breeding, fattening, and slaughtering throughout the country.

The ministry added that it will conduct epidemiological investigations in collaboration with regional authorities to determine the source of the outbreaks and potential routes of suspected imported goods.

Earlier this month, contagious ovine rinderpest disease was detected in many large flocks of sheep and goats in central Thessaly.

Authorities maintained that the disease entered the country through sheep and goats imported from Romania.