The Catalan government has asked the Spanish Executive to mobilize the maximum possible units of the specialized anti-hunting team of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) to control African swine fever, as announced on Sunday by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Oscar Ordig. “We have already made a formal request for the participation of UME specialists in these tasks, which is very important for them to be done in a coordinated way,” the minister said.
“We are on health alert and we are talking about the first sector of the economy, so this is not only a problem for farmers, but also for the country,” Ordeg justified.
The advisor also confirmed that the tests conducted on pigs from 39 farms in the affected area were negative, and therefore none of the farms have been affected so far, and the positive results so far are limited to wild pigs. Likewise, Ordig admitted that more samples of these deceased animals had been found in the area under surveillance, but he avoided specifying numbers and stressed that it is the official laboratories in Madrid that confirm the cases, which so far remain two.
On Sunday morning, eight samples of wild boar were already found with signs of death due to this disease, and efforts are being made to prevent it from reaching animals raised for food purposes.
The wild boar capture device was reinforced this weekend in the Collserola area (Barcelona), so it is not ruled out that another dead animal will be found in the area. These tasks are carried out by members of Agents Rurals, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and employees of the public company Forestal Catalana, along with cooperation with other bodies such as the Civil Guard and now also the UME.
Wild animals are controlled by installing traps, repellents and fences so that the animals do not move to other areas. As detailed, the takeover will be coordinated by Agents Rurals, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and employees from the public company Forestal Catalana, along with cooperation with other bodies such as the Civil Guard.