Sheep culls put pressure on Greek feta cheese production

"Three families lived off this place. Look what they’ve done to me. I'm 55 years old. What job can I do now?" the livestock farmer sobbed. From August 2024 to early March, more than 480,000 sheep and goats have been slaughtered because of the pandemic, mainly in central and northern Greece. Producers say the resulting fall in the livestock population and milk production is threatening feta, one of Greece's premier exports. A heavy quiet hangs over Theofilou's farm in the absence of the bleats from the sheep and the tinkle of their bells.