There was a fair export of cattle to Egypt before the war, a good proportion of the animals being consigned to the Serum Institute, Cairo, as Cyprus cattle, alone among the cattle in this part of the Levant, have so far been free from plague.
The number of horned cattle in 1917 is officially given as 48,761.
The exports for the five years preceding the war were:
| Year. | Number. | Value. |
| £ | ||
| 1909 | 2,357 | 11,314 |
| 1910 | 4,240 | 20,218 |
| 1911 | 9,664 | 44,871 |
| 1912 | 5,751 | 34,303 |
| 1913 | 3,017 | 20,110 |
There can be no question that if more attention were paid to growing fodder crops, cattle breeding could be greatly increased, and a good trade with Egypt might be done.
The establishment of the Athalassa Stock Farm has had a most useful influence on the improvement of the live stock of the Island.
Beef has only lately become an article of food for the country people, and is still so only on a small scale. The townspeople, having become Europeanised to a greater degree than formerly, are now becoming beef consumers, and the high price of beef has had a stimulating effect upon breeding for the butchers. Before the British occupation the killing of an ox for eating purposes was considered by many villagers an act of sacrilege.
Sheep
Sheep rearing is an important industry in Cyprus. The sheep are of the fat-tailed species and are allied, though superior to, the Afrikander sheep. The total number of sheep in the Island in 1917 was 255,150.