Newsroom
Lawmakers on Wednesday were briefed on cases of echinococcus detected in dogs in the Kampos Tsakkistras area, prompting warnings for livestock farmers and dog trainers to take extra precautions.
Speaking after a session of the Parliamentary Environment Committee, AKEL MP Nikos Kettiros said officials from the Game and Fauna Service and the Veterinary Services reported that packs of dogs had been damaging wild mouflon populations. Some of the dogs were rounded up by the Game and Fauna Service and later euthanized by Veterinary Services.
Tests revealed that several of the dogs were infected with echinococcus, a parasitic disease that had once posed major challenges to livestock farming in Cyprus decades ago.
“This is a highly contagious disease that had largely disappeared but now appears to have returned,” Kettiros said. “We are informing the public, especially farmers, so they can work closely with veterinarians to protect their animals.”
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvidis said the last known cases of echinococcus in dogs in Cyprus were recorded in 1970.
“Fifty-five years later, we’re seeing this dangerous disease reappear in Kampos,” Savvidis said, adding that many of the stray dogs may have come from the island’s occupied areas, which he described as a serious and ongoing problem.
He urged livestock professionals and dog trainers in the region to remain especially vigilant.
