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The island of Crete in Greece has become the main reference point and recipient of livestock subsidies in the country. This has led to many suspicions due to the disparity between the official data and the reality on the island. According to the Greek media outlet iEdiseis, Crete is home to more than 45% of the country's total livestock, even though the size of the island is very small
This is the number of goats and sheep on the island
Records say that the number of sheep and goats on the island has increased considerably, from 2.2 million to eight million in just four years. At the same time, in the rest of Greece the number of such animals seems to have fallen considerably. However, this sharp growth has caused its veracity to be questioned by farmers on the island of Crete and in Greece.
The land and its use has been a crucial aspect when questioning the veracity of these data, since in order to feed more than eight million animals, 16 million acres of pasture would be needed, twice the total area of the island of Crete. This is also based on the fact that the entire island was covered exclusively by grazing areas, something impossible because on the island they do not exceed 2,360,400 acres, 14% of its territory.
In this way, this difference in criteria inflates the number of animals to access greater financial aid, causing much concern and uncertainty among the authorities, who are calling for more control over the island. If this is proven to be true, it would confirm such an imbalance in the distribution of subsidies in Greece, something that would set alarm bells ringing.