site.btaPM Tells Ministers to Do All It Takes to Deal with Ovine Rinderpest Outbreak

Sofia, July 18 (BTA) - At the opening of the government's weekly meeting Wednesday, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov instructed the government ministers to do all it takes to deal with the outbreak of ovine rinderpest (also known as peste des petits ruminants (PPR)). Agriculture Minister Roumen Porozhanov is required to report on how the competent authorities dealt with PPR outbreaks before 1990.

The Prime Minister criticized the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency for not showing enough humaneness. "This pest must be ended or else many more animals will have to be slaughtered," he said.

The Prime Minister said further that if the outbreak is not contained, the State will face paying hundreds of millions of leva in compensations to farmers.

"Show compassion. Pay up fast [the compensations]. You have to convince the people that if the outbreak is not contained, this pest will be everywhere, the entire sector will be done with and Bulgaria will be unable to export any produce for long years ," he said.

The Agriculture Minister said that some of the demands of farmers who have been protesting outside the government building, are unrealistic. He also said he has met on several occasions with representatives of the protesting organization of sheep and goat breeders and knows them to represent 25-30 per cent of the sector. "The rest don't share their position," the Minister said.

Porozhanov said that the euthanized animals are being evaluated highly and the farmers' costs of decontaminating the farms will also be covered.

Sheep and goat breeders from the southeastern village of Sharkovo, who is affected by the PPR outbreak, came to Sofia to protest with demands for state aid of at least 40 leva per head to compensate the losses from the changes in direct payments.

They also call for market-price compensations for the culled animals.

Owners of culled breeding-control sheep will be paid 327 leva per animal, said the Minister. The de minimis subsidies have been increased to 40 leva from 25 leva per sheep and goat in the seven municipalities of the regions of Bourgas and Yambol where restrictions were introduced due to the PPR outbreak. Villagers will also be paid 7 leva per animal in support for sheep and goat breeding, said the Minister