The veterinary service said on Tuesday that no complaints had been received over pigs dumped in the Nicosia village of Meniko last week.
On Saturday, the Green Party claimed it had repeatedly denounced the operating conditions of the breeding unit in question to the veterinary service and had visited the area at least three times.
The Meniko incident was not a random case but rather proof of inaction of responsible authorities, it said, adding that it stood as an example of “long-term environmental and health degradation in the region”.
But the veterinary service said “based on the correspondence registered in the official files, no complaint related to this livestock farm had been submitted” – neither by the Greens nor by anybody else.
Moreover, the vet service clarified that legislation was not broken over the health of the animals, the conditions in which they were held in or pig meat but rather animal management issues. Farm managers had broken veterinary and environmental legislation by improperly managing pig carcasses, therefore investigations were launched, it said.
Despite the incident violating veterinary and environmental laws, it did not pose a risk to public or human health, the service said.
On Sunday it confirmed there was no risk of a disease being suffered by the pigs being found in meat available in the market.
“But we are talking about a case of a particular breeder this time. We are not talking about a widespread incident,” Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said. She stressed that it was the responsibility of the farmer to inform authorities to collect the dead animals, which did not happen.
Dead pigs were discovered illegally dumped in Meniko last Friday, with some carcasses exposed and others partially buried.
According to state veterinary service director Christodoulos Pipis, the law requires livestock owners dispose of animal byproducts, including carcasses and waste in accordance with regulations.
Investigations to determine the extent of the breaches continue.
Click here to change your cookie preferences