Two Bulgarian Agencies, for food safety and forests, have been criticized by the country's Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, for not catching animals suffering from FMD on time.

The Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, Dr. Yordan Voynov and Biser Dachev had one week to deal with cows suffering from foot-and-mouth disease running free in the Strandzha region in Southeastern Bulgaria, but they failed, Naydenov said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday,Voynov asked the Chief Secretary of the Interior, Kalin Georgiev, for assistance. As a result, Georgiev sent sharpshooters to deal with the animals.

"The Food Safety Agency and the Forest Agency together may very as many resources as the Army. We have enough employees, so I told Voynov and Dachev not to seek assistance from other institutions if they cannot coordinate," the Minister stated.

Up to now, six villages in Southeast Bulgaria have registered FMD outbreaks. At the end of March, the Agency announced that as many as 700 animals might have to be euthanized to prevent the spread of FMD in Strandzha, triggering mass farmers' protest rallies and blockades.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Bulgarian Council of Miniters decided to restore the fence on the country's Turkish border, which existed in the Cold War period, to prevent animals with FMD from entering it.