Bulgarian farms getting hit very hard by odd animal plagues killing livestock.

One of Europe's poorest countries is being devastated as we speak by an odd "plague" that is forcing farmers to kill (or have killed) their livestock in large numbers. Authorities there believe it came in form neighboring Turkey, but the people are anxious and concerned that the whole thing is being blow out of proportion. It is, apparently, something called ovine rinderpest. There doesn't seem to be a clear set of rules and guidelines about whose animals get destroyed and whose do not. There also seems to be a stunningly small number of confirmed cases of the "outbreak" upon which the government is basing the decision to euthanize whole herds, and people are very upset about it.

Here is a link to an article about the situation:

https://www.euronews.com/2018/07/27/bulgarian-farmers-devastated-over-sheep-and-goat-plague-slaughter

Here is an excerpt:

"The supporters say they are not politically motivated but do not believe the government is telling the truth about the plague outbreak. They say they want a clear line of communication with the decision makers in Sofia and believe healthy animals should not be killed. Bolyarovo is home to 41-year-old Ana Petrova, who is desperately holding out hope that her 203 sheep will be spared. At the entrance to her farm, police check ID’s of supporters entering, and on the way out, cars are disinfected with chlorine. 'I think there are better options, says Petrova, this is pressure and stress we as farmers don’t need. We wanted a dialogue with the doctors, the same doctors which we trusted before. But the secretive way they are handling things makes me doubt there is any disease at all.' Petrova says she has been told a second round of blood tests will be done on her sheep next week.

Multiple veterinarians involved in euthanising the livestock declined a call for comment from Euronews."

Hmmm...did you catch that last sentence of the excerpt? Read it again. Why would that be?? What would they have to hide. Have these veterinarians been told not to talk? What other reason would there be for "multiple veterinarians" to not want to talk to the press? I don't know either, but this seems to lend some credence, IMHO, to the people there who find the whole thing to be very questionable.

God bless the poor people of the affected areas.

To me, this is another very good reason for countries to spurn the European Union. These overlords in Brussels certainly are not qualified to micromanage such situations. These should be managed by the people in Sofia that know the people, the land and the livestock; and have dealt with such things for centuries.

Just my two cents...