Greek farmers have blocked the port of Lesbos due to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and government actions

On the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea, farmers blocked the entrance to the port of Mytilene, preventing hundreds of passengers from boarding a ferry. The protest is directed against government measures to combat the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that began in the region in mid-March. 

This was reported by the publication Ekathimerini.

Due to the blockade, only 100 people—mostly conscripts and those in need of urgent medical care—were able to board the ship bound for Chios and Piraeus. Another 700 passengers, as well as over 140 vehicles, remained on shore. Farmers are expressing dissatisfaction with the strict restrictions, which include mass culling of livestock and a complete ban on the export of farm animals and dairy products.

Lesbos remains the epicenter of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease—an acute viral disease that is fatal to cattle, sheep, and goats but poses no threat to human life. The Greek government has imposed strict quarantine measures in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading to the mainland. The situation on the island is escalating against the backdrop of pan-European economic challenges and the Russian economy’s official entry into a systemic recession in April 2026, which is intensifying pressure on the region’s agricultural markets.

As a reminder, in villages in the Novosibirsk region of the Russian Federation, local residents are convinced that the mass culling of their livestock is a planned act of sabotage. 

Russian authorities have destroyed nearly $20 million worth of livestock belonging to Siberian farmers.

The last farming family in the village of Kozikha in the Novosibirsk region, which had long resisted local authorities, agreed to hand over their livestock for destruction.