75 animal exit ramps to be installed in Cyprus reservoirs

The Cyprus Forestry Department has signed a €17,000 contract to install 75 rescue ramps at public water reservoirs. The project is scheduled to take two months. The special emergency infrastructure will allow wild and stray animals to climb out onto dry land on their own, bypassing steep and slippery banks where they previously often exhausted themselves and drowned.

The problem intensified after an investigation into the deaths of dogs in the Astromeritis reservoir and inspections by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2025. Authorities had previously already urged owners of private water reservoirs to equip similar exits and to monitor the integrity of fencing.