The crucial hours and days to control the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) that was discovered in Catalonia last Friday. On the same day a group of veterinarians from the European Commission arrived in the affected area and began deploying … the 150 UME soldiers, The State of Catalonia, through the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Oscar Ordig, has indicated that the next few hours and days, until Friday, will be decisive, which is why all necessary measures will be taken. “We are living in critical hours,” the advisor said, and doubled the appeal to residents to avoid any activity in Collserola Park, adjacent to Barcelona, which usually witnesses a large presence of hikers, runners and cyclists.
The apparatus consists of more than 400 soldiers – forest agents, who coordinate the operation, UME, which already numbers 150 compared to the 117 initially planned, Mossos, local police… – who have already completed the first operation Comprehensive inspection, “inch by inch”Within six kilometers of the point where the two wild boars contaminated with ASF were found, they are the only ones confirmed so far, although eight more are suspected.
“The priority is Contains focusThe advisor insisted, recalling that the results of tests on 39 pig farms within a 20-kilometre radius were negative. Outside this area, the rest of the pig farms have been ordered to review perimeter fences as well as disinfection procedures for anyone arriving on the farms.
In this context, the Counselor congratulated himself on the fact that, so far, none of the cases, including the suspects, have been found outside a six-kilometre radius, which is in addition to a larger surveillance perimeter of 20 kilometres. In parallel, a series of measures are being implemented, one of which in particular is the appeal of agricultural organizations and agricultural associations between today and tomorrow. Fishing communities Develop a plan to control the wild boar population, not only in the affected area and the control area but throughout the territory, with the aim of reducing the number of specimens.
The government admitted that “we have an overpopulation problem” and indicated that it would rely on the help of fishermen in the task of reducing samples which in the specific case of Collserola allowed the number of samples to be reduced by half. According to official data from April 2024, in the park Collserola The density of wild pigs is 8.2 per square kilometer, half the number per square kilometer two years ago. “I was lucky with the work that was done at Collserola,” the consultant admitted.
At the moment, with the two confirmed positive cases, even if they are the only ones, which is unlikely, the state does not dare to indicate when restrictions can be lifted, especially when the virus can persist in the environment for several days. In this sense, a technical team will be created to advise and analyze the company’s experience as well 14 European countries have recorded cases of African swine fever In recent years.
In parallel, and in light of the lack of thought about providing specific financial aid in the coming days and weeks, the Ministry of Economy opened an aid line. 50 million euros in loans.