Greece’s Sheep and Goat Crisis Sparks Fears of a Global Feta Shortage

Story based on reporting from BBC News by Kostas Koukoumakas. Credit: BBC News.

The rolling hills of Thessaly should be alive with the chatter of sheep and the clatter of metal milk pails. Instead, silence hangs over many farms in central Greece, a silence created by one of the worst outbreaks of sheep and goat pox the country has seen in decades.

According to BBC News, hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats have already been culled across multiple regions, raising alarm bells about the future of Greek dairy farming, and the world’s supply of authentic feta cheese.

A Veterinarian Who Lost Everything

In Karditsa, veterinarian and farmer Anastasia Siourtou walks through an empty barn that used to house 650 sheep. Her animals were culled on 12 November after a single case of sheep and goat pox was detected. The BBC reports that she believes the infection reached her herd from another farm just two kilometers away.

The loss was not just financial. “It is very cruel,” she told the BBC. “I felt that I failed to protect them."

Her farm, once a thriving part of Greece’s “white gold” industry — the sheep’s milk used to make feta — now stands deserted.

A Rapidly Spreading Viral Outbreak

Sheep and goat pox — a contagious viral disease — first appeared in northern Greece in August 2024. According to BBC reporting, by mid-November 2025, 1,702 incidents had been recorded, with 417,000 animals culled. That figure represents nearly 5% of the national herd.

Because feta must be made from at least 70% sheep’s milk, losing so many animals has immediate consequences. Small dairies are already struggling to secure enough milk, and experts warn that shortages and price increases are likely if the outbreak continues.

A National Product at Risk

Last year, Greece exported €785 million worth of feta, BBC News reports, with more than €500 million shipped to EU countries and another €90 million to the UK. The cheese is protected under EU law: only feta made in Greece, primarily from local sheep and goat milk — can carry the name.

If milk production drops significantly, so does Greece’s ability to supply the world with its most famous cheese.

Farmers Say Support Falls Short

Many farmers interviewed by the BBC describe deep frustration. Compensation payments ranging between €132 and €220 per animal depending on age, fall far short of their total losses.

Tassos Manakas, another farmer in Thessaly, lost 873 sheep. The BBC describes him walking through cobwebbed milking rooms, recalling how he once began each morning listening to his flock bleat. “If you cut me that day,” he said, “I wouldn’t bleed.”

Criticism of Delayed Action

The Greek government has faced criticism for responding too slowly. According to the BBC, a National Scientific Committee for managing the outbreak was established 14 months after the first case. Early lockdown zones were not put in place, and veterinarians say the state veterinary service is understaffed.

Meanwhile, illegal transport of animals into disease-free areas and even illegal vaccinations — have made containment more complicated.

A Debate Over Vaccination

Greek farmers are pushing for mass vaccination, pointing to neighboring countries like Bulgaria and Turkey, which use vaccines to control the virus. EU rules allow emergency vaccination, but Greece fears the consequences: vaccinating the entire national herd could classify the country as endemic, threatening feta exports.

And, as veterinarians told the BBC, existing older vaccines do not fully stop the virus from spreading.

A Crisis With No Easy Answers

For now, fields that once held grazing sheep sit empty. Barns are silent. And hay meant for sheep is beginning to rot in the sun.

Some farmers, like Haris Seskliotis, who lost 700 sheep, are already considering rebuilding — even if it means shifting to cattle. “We have not learned anything other than raising herds,” he told the BBC.

But for Greece’s sheep and goat farmers, the future is deeply uncertain and for the rest of the world, the fate of feta cheese hangs in the balance.