Feb 25th, 2026
3 mins
Defra have confirmed that on 20th February 2026, the Republic of Cyprus reported an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD):
This was detected in a cattle farm in Livadia, Larnaca.
As a result, the UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance has initiated restrictions against commercial imports of the following commodities from the Republic of Cyprus:
- live (including non-domestic) ruminant and porcine animals, including wild game, and their germplasm
- fresh meat from ruminant and porcine animals (including chilled and frozen)
- meat products from ruminant and porcine animals that have not been subject to heat treatment D1, D, C or B as defined in Annex 1 (including wild game)
- milk, colostrum and their products, unless subjected to treatment as defined in Article 4 of Regulation 2010/605 (see Annex 1)
- certain animal by-products (a full list of which is provided in Annex 2)
- casings derived from FMD-susceptible species
- hay and straw
An Official Veterinary Surgeon (OVS) note has been published on gov.uk
For clarity Annex 1 sets out the specific risk mitigating treatments that are acceptable for imports of meat and dairy products from Cyprus.
If members have any queries in relation to these latest restrictions, please contact deniserion@bfff.co.uk for assistance, or email Defra’s Imports and EU Trade Team directly on bbtp-issue-triage@defra.gov.uk and imports@apha.gov.uk
