Greek government avoids sheep pox vaccination due to feta cheese export risks amid widespread animal culling.
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A Greek shepherd committed suicide after sacrificing his flock due to an ongoing sheep and goat pox epidemic that has already led to the sacrifice of nearly half a million animals across Greece. The Greek government is hesitant to implement vaccination, despite recommendations from the World Organisation for Animal Health and the European Commission, primarily because vaccinating would likely cause Greece to lose its status as disease-free, which would severely restrict exports of feta cheese—a major economic driver, with 65% of its production exported. Feta cheese has a protected designation of origin (DOP), meaning only Greek producers can make it. The pox virus is highly infectious and resistant in the environment, spreading through direct contact or indirectly via insects. While vaccination could help control the spread, declaring an endemic status would halt exports for several years, causing significant market loss. The European Commission has advised that vaccination should be used alongside other control measures like culling, but the Greek government currently relies on “sanitary emptying,” which involves sacrificing entire infected farms. Some farmers are reportedly using unauthorized imported vaccines due to concern over the crisis and insufficient compensation from the government. Experts note that while previous outbreaks in Spain were manageable through strict movement restrictions leading to a temporary loss of disease-free status, the current scale of the epidemic in Greece presents a much larger challenge.
