A question to the European Commission was submitted by the MEP and head of the Parliamentary Group of PASOK in the European Parliament, Nikos Papandreou.
With his question, the PASOK MEP highlights the issue of the protection of livestock of livestock farmers from wolves and points out that in recent years, Greek livestock farmers are on the edge of the cliff due to the accumulated problems they face. Among other things, he emphasizes especially in the mountainous and semi-mountainous areas where nomadic or free animal husbandry is practiced professionally, there has been a significant increase in cases of attacks by wolves, on productive animals and especially sheep and goats.
This situation leads to a dead end for many breeders. The restoration and compensation of the livestock by the state, Mr. Papandreou underlines, has a lot of bureaucracy and many times they abandon it, because they do not have the ability to prove these losses. The free nomadic or mobile animal husbandry is for Greece a continuation of millennia with historical, cultural and traditional reference. But the most basic of all are the environmental and social characteristics of these areas, because with the absence of livestock farmers, the physiognomy of the environment will also change. The breeder of this form of animal husbandry, in addition to the economic activity, is also a guardian of the environment and in particular of the protection of forest wealth from fires. It contributes to a large extent to the protection of biodiversity, as well as the social composition of the countryside. After all, the numbers of the latest census are relentless and clearly demonstrate the shrinking of the countryside in these areas. Of course, there are other reasons for this reduction, however, the wolf is a significant threat to livestock breeders and for this reason they abandon free-range animal husbandry.
Based on the above findings, the PASOK MEP requests the support of the European Commission and asks if it intends to take special measures, (economic, social, infrastructure support, etc.) due to the necessity, in order to achieve a balance in the productive and social composition of these the region so that breeders can continue their activities and at the same time attract others to engage in this profession, due to the necessity of their existence. It is not possible, says Mr. Papandreou, to contribute with effort and anxiety to the preservation of the ecological chain, where in this particular case it is the wolf and the European Institutions to declare themselves absent from this situation.
It also asks the EU if it intends to give additional financial support to fully cover the livestock lost.
Katerina Plati
Source: Skai
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