The European Union is being hit by a wave of livestock diseases, fueling existing discontent among farmers.

In Greece, breeders are resorting to illegal vaccines to fight pox, while in France and Spain, mandatory culls to contain a new cattle disease have pushed farmers to the brink.

The European Commission said on January 22 that current efforts to eradicate animal diseases – including the slaughter of entire herds when an infection is detected – had become outdated.

"Massive animal culling around disease outbreaks is no longer societally acceptable today," reads a briefing seen by Euractiv, presented at a meeting with farmer organisations and NGOs chaired by EU farm chief Christophe Hansen.

The document argues that the EU should step up vaccinations, while acknowledging that doing so would pose challenges. Products from vaccinated animals, which carry antibodies, can easily face restrictions from trade partners – a risk the Commission plans to tackle diplomatically.

Hansen is currently working on a livestock strategy, which he plans to unveil by July. Meanwhile, in the coming weeks, the Commission is also set to present its evaluation of the Animal Health Law.

Greek farmers have been battling sheep and goat pox since the summer of 2024, as the virus has killed flocks and forced preventive culls.

"Around 460,000 sheep and goats, both young and adult, have been buried," Tsompanos Christos, a member of the Hellenic Livestock Association, told Euractiv.

This comes amid the government's refusal to vaccinate animals, which officials warn could trigger restrictions on precious feta exports.

Out of frustration, some breeders are now turning to black-market jabs to protect their herds.

Greek customs officials have intercepted several boxes of vaccines smuggled from Turkey in recent months, with authorities warning that such illegal trade sabotages efforts to contain the virus.

"The unapproved vaccines currently in circulation do not allow serological discrimination of infected from vaccinated animals," said the government in a statement, warning that laboratory work could become "practically impossible".

Athens' response has infuriated livestock breeders, already rattled by corruption scandals, and is now raising alarm in Brussels, Belgium.

Greece's opposition socialist party (Pasok) recently revealed a letter from EU Health Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi calling on the government to vaccinate or face stricter measures from Brussels.

"There is overwhelming evidence that the measures implemented in Greece for over a year are not sufficient," Várhelyi reportedly said. "If Greece does not manage the situation properly, it is the Commission's obligation to ensure that all necessary measures are taken".

A Commission spokesperson confirmed to Euractiv that EU officials were urging Athens to vaccinate animals to stop the virus.

"We have been in close contact with the Greek authorities at both technical and political level and have been on hand to provide scientific and technical support where possible," said the spokesperson in an email.

Meanwhile, France and Spain have been fighting lumpy skin disease (LSD), which reappeared in the EU last year after almost a decade of absence.

Livestock farmers were hit hard by veterinary protocols to contain the highly contagious virus, notably the culling of entire herds when an infection is detected.

In France, frustration coincided with discontent over trade deals and drove farmers onto the streets en masse.

French farmers have been pressing Paris – and Brussels – to ease health rules they said are too strict.

That frustration has spilled across borders. In Spain, where the disease struck in October, livestock breeders have also been left questioning the EU's preventive killing measures – designed to ensure total eradication but increasingly seen as indiscriminate.

- Euractiv

Current efforts to eliminate animal diseases in EU outdated, says European Commission

Related Articles

EU investigates allegations of China's dumping of Pekin duck products

Upcoming EU protein strategy calls for higher domestic production

EU compound feed output forecast at 152 million tonnes in 2026 as poultry growth offsets pig sector decline