After having grown up in Canada and volunteered at multiple clinics there before coming to the Republic of Cyprus for veterinary college, I’ve noticed several difference with how we treat our animals not just ethically, but epidemiologically. In this article, I list 6 major differences between veterinary practice in Cyprus and Canada.
1. Cyprus is Rabies Free
Cyprus, unlike Canada is a rabies free country. It makes sense. It’s an island with a distinct lack of non-domestic small mammals. Rabies is a highly lethal virus that is spread through saliva and affects mammals, including humans. It attacks the central nervous system leading to the characteristic behavioral abnormalities, hypersalivation, and ataxia or discoordination associated with the disease. In Canada it is found in low levels amongst wild animal populations with most pet owners being wary of racoons or skunks that come out in the daytime but also bats. The risk is enough that the government of Ontario mandates rabies vaccination under the 1990 Health Protection and Promotion Act. This is not the case in Cyprus. In Cyprus, rabies is not considered a mandatory vaccine due to their effective elimination of the disease; however, any animals being imported must be protected.
2. Cyprus Virtually No Beef Industry
Do you live for a juicy steak of locally raised AAA Beef? If so, Cyprus is not the place you want to live. While Cyprus has a virtual cornucopia of Pork, Chicken, Goat, and Mutton, what it doesn’t have is Beef. This is largely due to the fact that Cyprus is a very dry country and lacks the pasture required to feed beef animals. Indeed everywhere there is a garden one sees rows of soaker hoses. That being said, it is not as though the people of Cyprus do not eat Beef. They import it from neighboring countries, but as such it is often magnitudes more expensive than other meats. This is in stark contrast to Canada where beef is worth a whopping $24 Billion in gross domestic product.
3. Scrapie Free Sheep!
Cyprus, while not as big on beef, excels at raising small ruminants such as sheep and goats with which traditional products have been made for centuries. In particular, they are famous for producing Halloumi cheese, a tougher cheese made of sheep and goats milk that can be grilled, fried, or enjoyed in many other manners. To protect these animals from scrapie, prion disease that damages the nervous system similar to mad-cow disease, Cyprus has worked to breed scrapie resistant Chios sheep and Damascus goats and has been successful. Canada on the other hand, while it has robust control programs in place, has yet to succeed in developing similarly resistant breeds of the same quality.
4. Banned Dogs and Cats
While the Ontario and Manitoba both have bans on Pit Bulls including the American Pit-Bull Terrier, the Pit-Bull terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire, Cyprus and indeed the much of Europe takes banned breeds a step further. In the European Union there are bans on:
- The Pit Bull Terrier and American Pit Bull
- The Dogo Argentinu or Argentinian Mastiff
- The Japanese Tosa aka Tosa inu
- Fila Brasileiro or Brazilian Mastiff
The import of these breeds regardless of their country of origin is prohibited including mixes of these dogs and dogs with substantially similar characteristics. If you attempt to bring one of these dogs into the country, at best the dog will be returned to the country of origin and at worst it will be euthanized without owner compensation. The Republic of Cyprus also prohibits Savannah, Bengal, and Caracat breeds and their hybrids. As of the writing of this article, Canada does not have bans on any of these cat breeds.
5. Lack of Fly Strike
Depending on a farm’s preference in Canada, seeing a sheep with a long, healthy, and fully intact tail is somewhat of a precious rarity. Many farmers routinely tail dock, a procedure that is considered to be quite painful regardless of the method used and which is often criticized as inhumane. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), while acknowledging the pain caused to the animal, admits it may be necessary to prevent further welfare harms from flystrike when other methods fail. Flystrike or Cutaneous Myiasis, occurs when blow flies lay eggs in wool (usually around the rump and tail which tend to become soiled easily, that hatch and whose maggots feed on the living animal. Tail docking is one of the most effective ways of preventing this condition and is somewhat considered in veterinary circles to be the lesser of two evils. So imagine my surprise to visit my first farm in Cyprus to find beautiful long healthy tails on all their sheep! As I was informed and experienced, there are very few flies on Cyprus. As such, there is not generally a need to tail dock as flystrike is relatively uncommon.
6. Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP
Cyprus, while famous for its cat population, has been facing a particularly nasty issue of late. That issue is the condition known as feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP. FIP is an infectious and highly stubborn disease caused by a coronavirus. It usually exists in low levels in the population, and is common in catteries. However, over the last few years Cyprus has made international headlines due to a FIP outbreak. This issue has garnered worldwide attention and has resulted in Cyprus being the first country in the EU where two reasonably effective treatments exist, Molnupiravir and GS-441524. Though the course of treatment is long and expensive, it is generally effective. Unfortunately, Canada lacks access to GS-441524, and another anti-retroviral which contains GS-441524 (Remdesivir) is hard to obtain, meaning that Canadian cats with FIP may only be treated with supportive therapy and almost always perish.
Conclusion
While Canada and Cyprus are very different countries, they have a lot of similarities too. Cypriots, like Canadians, are a kind people who care deeply about the issues affecting their animals and who strive to improve themselves at every opportunity. The differences in geography have led to some differences in the animals that do well and the products they produce. It is interesting to note, as a veterinary student, the variability in approaches to veterinary medicine around the world and for what reason. I expect that when I someday open my own practice in Canada, that I will be a better vet , for my experiences here on the island of Cyprus.
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-Caitlin McAllister (DVM Candidate 2028).
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