Sharpshooters Join Bulgaria's FMD Fight

Owners of destroyed FMD-infected livestock are seen awaiting the payment of compensations by the government in the Tsarevo municipality. Photo by BGNES

Police sharpshooters are going to take part in the fight against foot-and-mouth disease, FMD, in the Bulgarian Strandzha region.

The information was reported Tuesday by the Director of the Food Safety Agency, Dr. Yordan Voynov, cited by the Bulgarian National Radio.

According to Voynov, there are no new outbreaks, but infected domestic animals, roaming around without known owners, must be exterminated and this is where sharpshooters would come in.

"I asked the Chief Secretary of the Interior, Kalin Georgiev, for assistance and as early as today sharpshooters will arrive. We might also need helicopters to find the animals in the woods, and police will help us with that too," the Agency Head explained.

At the end of March, the Agency announced that as many as 700 animals might have to be euthanized to prevent the spread of FMD in Strandzha, triggering mass farmers' protest rallies and blockades.