Wild goats and sheep remain free to move around Greece. Domesticated goats and sheep, not so much. The country's agriculture ministry has banned "the movement of sheep and goats for breeding, fattening and slaughter" amid the spread of "sheep and goat plague," also known as Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR). The contagious disease, which doesn't affect humans but has an animal mortality rate as high as 80% to 100%, first appeared in Ivory Coast in 1942 before spreading around the world, per the BBC. It surfaced in Greece's central Thessaly region on July 11. Since then, more than 200,000 animals have been tested and 8,000 culled, Reuters reports.
The agriculture ministry said Monday that two new cases had surfaced in central Larissa and southern Corinth. "Tightening the security measures across the country is deemed necessary for preventive reasons and is aimed at limiting the spread and eradicating the disease," the ministry said in a statement. It also said an investigation was underway to determine the source of the outbreak, with "suspicious imports" considered one possibility.
Once a PPR case is confirmed, the entire flock is culled and the farm disinfected under European Union rules. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization estimates associated global losses of up to $2.1 billion each year, per Reuters. The outlet notes Greece has the most goats of any country in Europe and uses their milk in its feta cheese, "a major economic driver." (More Greece stories.)
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