Livestock farmers will be gathering on Thursday at Rizoelia roundabout in Larnaca to protest the ongoing mass culling of animals due to the foot and mouth outbreak, while the police will be present to ensure the demonstration does not affect the arrivals of EU leaders for the informal council in Ayia Napa.

Spokeswoman for the farmers Stella Petrou said the decision to stage the protest still stands, following a meeting on Tuesday with the agriculture ministry’s permanent secretary Andreas Gregoriou, which “did not yield the desired results”.

Meanwhile, police spokesman Vyron Vyronos said measures have already been taken to ensure a smooth protest and for EU presidency activities, namely the informal EU council, to continue unhindered.

Petrou said dissatisfied farmers from all districts would be gathering at 11am and would partly close the roundabout, demanding the termination of mass culling at those farms with just a few incidences.

The farmers will be closing one lane in each direction and traffic will be channelled to the other lane.

“Our aim is not to inconvenience the public,” Petrou said.

Vyronos said the police were ready to handle the situation and would intervene immediately if the informal EU council set for Thursday afternoon in Ayia Napa was affected in any way.

EU heads of state and government will start arriving in the morning and “all necessary measures will be taken so that there are not problems with traffic or the presidency’s meetings,” he added.