site.btaRomanian Shepherds Protest against Culling of Sheep Over Ovine Rinderpest for Two Successive Days

Between 30 and 50 Romanian sheep breeders are protesting outside the Romanian government building in Bucharest. They are dissatisfied with the measures taken by the authorities to contain the spread of ovine rinderpest and are demanding greater freedom regarding the transportation of animals for trade or reproduction. The protesters are calling on the authorities to ban the culling of animals in Romania and are adamant that they will not leave until their demands are met.

The protest is into its second day.

"We spent the night here. We want urgent measures from the government, otherwise we are doomed to bankruptcy. The biggest problem is the slaughter of animals. More than 220,000 sheep and goats have been killed and exports, our main source of income, have been banned," Cristian, one of the demonstrators, told BTA.

According to him, the strict controls imposed recently have raised doubts about the health of the animals and shepherds have been unable to sell their livestock.

The protesting shepherds are demanding the resignation of the director of National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority and want a guaranteed minimum price of RON 20 (nearly BGN 8) plus VAT per kilogram of liveweight.

Negotiations on Monday with the government were fruitless. Shepherds are threatening to block national roads if their problems are not solved.

According to the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, there are currently 27 active hotspots of ovine rinderpest in Romania. In the past week, ten hotspots have been eradicated, including nine in the eastern county of Tulcea and one in the south-eastern county of Constanta.