Livestock face ‘starvation’ unless feed is provided, mayor warns

Livestock that survived the recent floods in central Greece will “die of starvation” if there is no immediate steps taken to cover the shortage in animal feed, a mayor has warned.

Yannis Kokouras, mayor of Tyrnavos outside Larissa, said that while 25,000 sheep were saved in his municipality, farmers have no sheds or feed for them following the deluge, which was a deep concern especially as lambing season was approaching.

“Where will we be able to keep the animals now?” he said, speaking to state-run news agency AMNA.

Kokouras added that local vintners have been unable to access their vines, which are now due for harvest.

The general secretary of the Panhellenic Association of Livestock Breeders, Nikos Palaskas, also told AMNA across Thessaly there is a risk of contamination from dead animals.

“Unfortunately, the process of collecting them is very slow. It is very difficult to approach the livestock units that are under water,” he said, adding that where animals have been saved, feed is being dropped to them from the air.

He said animal carcasses had “reached the sea in Platamonas,” in Pieria regional unit.

The government’s offer of immediate aid of 5,000-6,000 thousand euros was “not even enough for a week’s supply of feed,” he continued.

“To buy a thousand animals you need 250,000 euros. To build a livestock unit you need at least a million euros. Those who managed to save their animals have the winter ahead of them. And those who lost them will find them hard to replace.”