Livestock farmers have announced a nationwide protest to be held on Saturday in Nicosia, marching to the presidential palace in opposition to ongoing culling measures linked to foot-and-mouth disease.

Demonstrators will gather at the GSP stadium at 10am before marching at 11am, calling for an immediate halt further culling and demanding clarity on compensation.

In their statement issued on Friday, farmers said they oppose the “indiscriminate killing of healthy and asymptomatic animals” and claim that sampling procedures are being carried out outside European protocols, particularly in vaccinated herds.

They argue that testing conducted within 28 days of a second vaccine dose is invalid and have called for the option of private laboratory testing.

Organisers have also demanded the immediate announcement of compensation, warning that affected producers remain without clear information.

Under the slogan “stop the killing of our animals”, they urged public support, describing themselves as “the people who feed you”.

The protest follows earlier demonstrations in Larnaca, where farmers blocked roads and attempted to prevent veterinary officials from accessing farms.

One farmer at the time described the emotional toll of the measures, saying, “They tell us they will bring us other animals but if you destroy my state of mind, if you destroy me as a person, what will become of us?”

Agricultural representatives have called for full compensation covering livestock losses, feed destruction and lost income, alongside financial support to restart operations.

Earlier on Friday, veterinary services said on Friday that no new cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been detected, as testing and containment measures continue across the island.

Meanwhile, the second dose of the vaccine is being administered to cows, sheep and goats, while first dose vaccinations stand at 98 per cent for cattle and 65 per cent for sheep and goats.

In Dhali, the procedure has been completed and the pit is closing, while in Livadia culling in small farms should be wrapped up by the end of the day on Friday.

Georgiades said culling has reached 20,000 sheep and goats out of the 25,000 planned, while for cattle the number of animals killed reached 1,200.

“The situation is calm and the people are cooperating and I hope that we will remain at this level despite earlier reactions,” she said.

Georgiades explained that there had been no trouble on Friday because the officers went to farms where there had been no reactions. The officers would go back to the farms where people were protesting “over the weekend or next week”.

“We want to tackle [the situation] in a calm manner. There is no reason for tension. The work must be done, both epidemiological sampling and tracing sampling,” she said.

Cyprus, she added, could not do as it liked and had to observe EU regulations.

Regarding the vaccination of swine, Georgiades said that the vaccines should arrive by the end of the month.

Sampling has already been carried out at pig farms and those units are closed.

In the meantime, 81 checkpoints have been set up with wheel wash systems, in operation from 5am till 7pm on a daily basis.

Only farmers are allowed in and out of those areas, Georgiades explained.

She also said she was not aware of any farmers being reported.