Herders demand vaccines: Sheep flocks on Sharr Mountain face risk from sheep pox

Livestock farmers warn that the lack of vaccines against sheep pox could lead to the disappearance of the few remaining flocks on Sharr Mountain. Outraged, they are calling for institutional intervention to prevent the situation from worsening.

Farmers’ associations from Sharr and Kumanovo have expressed dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Veterinary Agency, which, according to them, have failed to secure the necessary vaccines against this disease.

Milena Veličković, head of the Livestock Breeders’ Association from Kumanovo, stated that failure to vaccinate would cause considerable damage. “The losses at this moment are already very large, not only for livestock farmers but for the entire economy of the country, so I appeal for a long-term analysis of what happens if we have greater sheep exports and what is happening right now. The current figures need to be analyzed, and we should double them to see what this would bring to the economy, foreign currency inflows or GDP, and see what we can improve because the harm is only growing,” she said.

Faced with the lack of vaccines from the ministry and the FVA, livestock farmers met today with the leadership of Sharr Mountain National Park. During the meeting, they sought support for restricting movement near the border line with Kosovo, where the disease has spread, with the aim of protecting animals from infection.

Milorad Andrijeski announced that, in cooperation with the border police, stricter measures will be put in place to control the movement of animals, people, and motor vehicles, as all can serve as carriers of the disease. “Together with the border police, we will engage with reinforced measures regarding the movement of animals, people, and also motor vehicles, because all of these are possible ways of transmitting the disease,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Eastern Macedonia, over ten thousand sheep have died from sheep pox as a result of the failure to take vaccination measures.