Up to ten years in jail and €250,000 fines for smuggling animals from the occupied north

Cyprus’s Cabinet has approved a sharp increase in penalties under the Animal Health Law, with maximum fines rising to €250,000 and prison sentences extended to up to ten years, as foot-and-mouth disease culling continues across the island.

The Cabinet approved the Agriculture Ministry’s proposal on Thursday, with penalties for non-compliance with the law’s provisions rising from a maximum of six months in prison or a €3,323 fine to up to five years in prison or a €250,000 fine. For the...