Concerns Grow Over Feta Cheese Shortage Amid Major Livestock Cull in Greece

In Greece, the culling of hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats due to a viral outbreak has sparked anxiety over a potential shortage of the country’s beloved feta cheese.

Anastasia Siourtou, a veterinarian, stands amidst her vacant farm located on the fringes of Karditsa, a city nestled in central Greece’s Thessaly region. An unsettling quiet envelops the area where she once raised 650 sheep.

On November 12, veterinary authorities ordered the slaughter of all her livestock after discovering a case of sheep and goat pox. Siourtou speculates that her herd contracted the illness from a nearby farm that concealed its own outbreak, located just two kilometers away.

“I was here the day the sheep were culled. It is very cruel; I felt that I failed to protect them,”

Sheep and goat pox, a contagious viral infection, was first identified in northern Greece in August 2024, and it has rapidly spread throughout the nation. By mid-November, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food reported a staggering 1,702 confirmed cases.

To prevent further spread, the culling of entire herds is mandated upon finding a single infected animal. So far, approximately 417,000 sheep and goats have been euthanized, representing about 4-5% of the total population.

Feta cheese, recognized as a protected designation of origin within the European Union, relies heavily on sheep and goat’s milk for production, with about 80% of the milk utilized for this purpose. This unique status means that while similar cheeses can be made elsewhere in the EU, they cannot be marketed under the feta name.

In 2022, Greece exported €785 million (roughly $909 million or £690 million) worth of feta cheese, with €520 million of that going to other EU countries and €90 million to the UK. For feta to be classified as such, it must consist of at least 70% sheep’s milk, with the rest being goat’s milk.

Small-scale dairies are already facing challenges in sourcing adequate supplies of sheep’s milk, raising concerns about future feta shortages. Although prices have remained stable for the moment, experts warn that a price increase is likely if the situation does not improve.

“The limited amount of available milk increases production costs and makes it more difficult to maintain current quantities [of feta] on the market,”

Another farmer near Karditsa, Tassos Manakas, witnessed the culling of his 873 sheep on October 9. Now, he finds himself confined to a small room in his barn, reflecting on the closure of his shop.

“I used to come in the morning, hear the animals bleating, stroke them. The day they were culled, I was here. If you cut me that day, I wouldn’t bleed,”

Currently, farmers affected by the culling are receiving compensation ranging from €132 to €220 per sheep, depending on the animal’s age. However, many farmers assert that these payments do not adequately compensate for their substantial losses.

The government has faced criticism for its handling of the outbreak, particularly for establishing a National Scientific Committee for the Management and Control of Sheep and Goat Pox only in late October—14 months after the initial case was identified. Critics argue that no lockdown zones were implemented in regions where the disease first appeared, revealing a significant gap in the state’s veterinary resources.

Reports have emerged of farmers being arrested for illegally transporting animals into areas deemed disease-free, while local accounts indicate infected livestock have been disposed of improperly.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Rural Development and Food stated, “We implemented the plan to eradicate sheep pox from the very beginning, as provided for in the European protocols.”

The Ministry claims that the measures taken led to nearly zero cases by spring 2025 and that the decision to form the scientific committee was prompted by non-compliance with biosecurity measures among farmers.

As the situation continues to unfold, Greece’s Supreme Court has mandated an investigation into potential breaches of biosecurity protocols. Many farms still operate under outdated standards, with inadequate infrastructure and facilities.

During a visit to a farm near Larissa, the BBC encountered a property where two deceased lambs lay abandoned, although the owner denied any cases of pox on his premises.

Sheep and goat farmers in Thessaly are advocating for the mass vaccination of their herds, drawing parallels to strategies used in Bulgaria and Turkey to combat similar outbreaks. Such vaccinations are permitted under EU regulations in emergency situations, and farmers are urging their government to procure vaccines from available stock.

However, the Greek government has expressed concerns that mass vaccination could classify Greece as an endemic region for these diseases, imposing restrictions on exports of sheep and goat’s milk, especially feta cheese.

Prof. Gougoulis added that while older vaccines may be effective in endemic regions, they are not designed for eradication purposes, as they do not entirely prevent the spread of infection.

As the crisis escalates, officials from the National Committee for the Management and Control of Sheep and Goat Pox have indicated that livestock farmers across the nation may have conducted as many as one million unauthorized vaccinations, complicating efforts to manage the outbreak.

Farmers express outrage over this assumption, viewing it as an arbitrary estimate and accusing the committee of jeopardizing feta exports.

In the village of Rizomylos, farmer Haris Seskliotis is deeply troubled after one infection on his farm led to the preventive culling of 700 sheep, marking the second devastating blow to his operations following severe flooding in Thessaly in 2023.

“It’s extremely harsh,”

With bales of hay meant for his sheep now left to rot, Seskliotis refuses to dwell on his losses. Instead, he contemplates establishing a new venture with his son focused on raising calves, demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity.