Three farmers were taken to a police station for statements on Wednesday after a group of breeders blocked the entrance to the Veterinary Services headquarters in Nicosia, demanding payment of outstanding compensation following the foot and mouth disease outbreak.
The protesters parked trucks outside the office, preventing access to the building as they called on authorities to provide a clear timetable for settling unpaid claims.
Police attended the scene following a complaint regarding the obstruction of the entrance and took three of the eight participating farmers in for questioning.
Authorities have not ruled out further action, including possible written charges.
A delegation of livestock farmers, led by the ‘voice of the livestock breeders’ president Neophytos Neophytou, later went to the Agriculture Ministry after being invited for discussions.
According to local media, the delegation left after failing to find officials available for the meeting.
The farmers have warned that their actions could escalate, with some raising the possibility of further protests.
The demonstration comes despite repeated government assurances that the vast majority of compensation payments have already been completed.
Last month, the cabinet approved a further €6.35 million support package for affected livestock farmers, including €4.85 million for compensation covering livestock, milk, feed and other losses, alongside an additional €1.5 million in targeted assistance for sheep and goat farmers.
Then agriculture minister Maria Panayiotou said the additional funding would bring total government support for the sector to €39 million.
She said approximately €16 million had already been paid to affected farmers and insisted only 15 compensation claims remained unresolved.
According to Panayiotou, those outstanding cases involved discrepancies in livestock records or other issues requiring legal guidance before payments could be authorised.
“These files involve differences in livestock numbers or other issues that required legal guidance,” she said.
“I want to stress that these are the last 15 livestock farmers. Claims that we have not paid compensation or provided support are simply not true.”
The protest follows weeks of tension between livestock farmers and the veterinary services over the handling of compensation claims.
In June, Neophytou accused the veterinary services of attempting to avoid payments by exploiting “legal loopholes”, despite President Nikos Christodoulides’ commitment that affected farmers would be compensated.
Veterinary services director Christodoulos Pipis rejected those allegations, maintaining that compensation could only be paid where livestock owners had complied with legal requirements and accurately maintained official animal records.
He argued that responsibility for declaring livestock numbers rested with farmers themselves but said each disputed case would be examined individually.
Click here to change your cookie preferences