Truck drivers felt unfairly singled out for their alleged connection with the outbreak of an African swine fever epidemic in Catalonia and demanded an apology from the Generalitat. The National Federation of Transport Associations of Spain (Fenadismer) requested this month advise of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, be corrected “for having accused transport workers of being at the origin of the African Swine Fever (ASF) epidemic in Catalonia”.
In a statement, Fenadismer considered that Ordeig had “absolutely unjustifiably” identified the transport sector as responsible for the transmission of the disease, due to his statements in which he indicated that it was possible that the virus arrived in Spain by transport on a contaminated sausage which, in fact, could have been injected with wild boar. “The outbreak was detected in an area where many trucks circulate and where there are service areas. The possibility that a jabalí ingested infected food is high,” said Ordeig, when he discovered the first positive cases in the surroundings of the Collserola Natural Park, in Barcelona.
Ordeig, who took a leading role in managing the crisis and became the government’s voice, argued that the cause of the outbreak “could be rooted in bad conditions,” perhaps in a mouthful someone might have thrown into the ground in a high-traffic area.
Immediately, the Spanish Confederation of Merchant Transport (CETM) expressed its discomfort with advise of Agriculture. In a press release, the CETM regretted these statements, saying that they “suggest – without anyone knowing – that a truck could be the source of an ASF outbreak after having consumed a mouthful of foreign sausages and throwing the remains out of the vent”. The note insists that professional drivers work “with responsibility and courtesy”.
A week later, the controversy continues. Fenadismer accuses the Ordeig of having made “hasty declarations”, without anyone knowing anything, but rather simple conjectures. “They are absolutely contemptible and inappropriate for an institutional position at the highest level as for an autonomous council,” denounced the entity.
In fact, it has been argued that Ordeig’s “unfounded accusations” “were put forward between the two”, following the European Union report which does not exclude that the virus came from a laboratory, since the virus of the epidemic detected in Catalonia does not belong to the same genetic group as those currently circulating in the Member States of the European Union.
The federation therefore requires advise “that he retracts and publicly asks for forgiveness from the collective of transport drivers”.
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