It all started end-June when three cases of the ovine rinderpest (sheep and goat plague) were discovered in three sheep farms in the village of Voden, Bolyarovo Municipality. In order to stop the contamination’s spreading, vet authorities imposed the euthanasia of 700 sheep and goats and their offspring. Despite those measures the situation got out of control and euthanasia had to continue in the village of Kosti, Tsarevo district. As 7 years ago there was foot-and-mouth disease there, nowadays only 6 out of 150 farms continue to breed small livestock. Now the situation repeats due to the positive test results at one of the farms which leads to the euthanasia of all the sheep and goats in the village. At the same time experienced vets voiced in public their doubts that “positive tests without any additional ones, a clinical picture and any development of the disease cannot be the reason for the large-scale euthanasia of the herds”. Despite all this, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency ordered the euthanasia of healthy animals, without giving any instructions to farmers on how to protect their herds from the spreading of the disease. Thus the tragedy reached the Yambol villages of Kraynovo, Strandja and Sharkovo, with 46 positive test results there. There are no animals with clinic picture of the illness here as well, but the authorities have started the euthanasia of 2,000 sheep and goats, despite the desperate attempts of farmers to oppose. Citizens of Burgas in distress blocked the roads to the Yambol villages, supported by young people from Sofia and Varna and the latter managed to attract the public attention. Representatives of the patriotic Front Angel Djambazki and Alexander Sidi refuted the lie that it had been all for the purpose of chasing locals from the regions of Yambol and Burgas, in order to free space for refugee camps.

“What the government can do is to refund", Alexander Sidi claims. "Still, there is this quarantine period when they won’t be able to breed livestock – experts say it could be 6 months or 1 year. Refunding comes first and then there are those proposals for farmers across Bulgaria to donate animals to their affected colleagues.”

The public discontent burst out when the Internet revealed videos and photos of Grandma Dora, who refused to get separated from her goats. She sent an appeal to the people to help us save her herd. Many responded to that call and went to Strandja – they surrounded the small farm of Dora and managed to prevent the animals’ euthanasia.

This discontent with the lack of information and the rude approach towards the animals and their owners grew into a protest in front of Council of Ministers building in Sofia on July 18, demanding the resignations of those in charge, responsible for the crisis in the sector.

“It breaks my heart to see these animals taken away from their people – any humanity is lost here… We are all here to save sheep and goat breeding… There has been no dialogue and understanding for over a decade now…” The Shumen incinerator representatives also protested, claiming that the burial of the dead animals meant the spreading of the same virus in a few years, which would affect stockbreeding again for sure. Vets state the same.

Prof. Ivan Stankov from the National Sheep and Goat Breeding Association voiced to the public his concern with concrete numbers:

“This is huge loss for these people, most of them elderly who are unlikely to start it all over again. Starting the transition period at 11 mln. small ruminants now we have 1.5 mln. If Japanese and Chinese people see rice as their major food, the Bulgarians recognize bread and cheese…”

A decision was taken over the night after a sitting of the Inter-institutional Coordination Headquarters for postponing of the euthanasia in Sharkovo until the receiving of the animals’ blood tests results. Disinfection and control are ongoing at the same time. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis is expected to meet today with Bulgarian journalists in Brussels in regard to this situation.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev