Greece announced that it is paying the most generously in the EU to cull diseased sheep. How are we doing?

Greece has become a vast slaughterhouse for sheep and goats. From September 2024 to now, the country has slaughtered 417,000 sheep and goats infected with sheeppox. It has extinguished over 1,100 outbreaks by September, leaving behind the ashes or graveyards of sheep and goats, and leaving shepherds orphaned. The government has decided to firmly protect the market for its famous feta cheese, which is estimated at around 785 million euros annually. Although the neighboring country announced new aid of 50 million euros for the affected livestock farmers, to which we must add the already paid, bringing the aid to 180 million since 2024, it is clear that the budget amount is many times less than the value of feta exports. More precisely, 4.3 times. However, let's not forget that Greece is not like Bulgaria – there, sheep and goats are in the millions. The animals lost due to sheeppox represent nearly 5% of the national herd. If we compare the figures for Greece with those for ...