Cheesemakers’ association spokesman Michalis Koullouros on Thursday called for a halt to the culling of farm animals in light of an outbreak of foot a d mouth disease.

“We must avoid the further killing of animals because, you understand that if animals are lost, their production and the production of halloumi are also lost,” he told the Cyprus News Agency.

He added that his association is “following” developments “with particular concern”, before adding that the situation is “very serious”.

With 13,000 animals having already been slaughtered since the outbreak was detected last week, he said that at present, “the initial indications are that if we manage to keep it at the levels it is at today, the situation is manageable”.

He was also keen to stress that there is “no reason for consumers to be concerned” in light of the outbreak, saying that dairy products, including halloumi, remain safe for human consumption, even if produced using the milk of infected animals.

“They are completely safe to continue to be consumed. Consumers can be sure that the products are safe for consumption,” he said.

Nonetheless, he said that “everyone’s contribution is needed in the effort to limit the spread of the disease” and added that cheesemakers across the island “implemented strict biosecurity measures from the very beginning”.

On this matter, he said that when the first cases of foot-and-mouth were detected in the north in December, “we immediately informed our members” about the cases and about “the risks of the disease”.

“We urged them to proceed with strict biosecurity measures, which were already being taken. We simply urged them to tighten up so that they can keep their units safe,” he said.