Thousands of cattle risk cull in Cyprus foot and mouth outbreak

Cyprus has culled more than 500 animals in a bid to contain its first foot and mouth outbreak in more than 40 years and thousands more are at risk, officials warned on Tuesday.

Veterinary officials have pinpointed more suspect farms in the area of the original outbreak at the village of Dromolaxia in the Larnaca district on the island's south coast.

Some 200 goats and sheep were culled on Tuesday as a pre-emptive measure, a day after 330 animals were killed, with animals from four of the seven suspect farms already targeted.

"It seems that we are obliged to kill livestock from the three remaining farms as well, which represents around 1,500 animals," Agriculture Minister Photis Photiou said on state radio.