Since this Monday, poultry, especially chickens and hens, begin… Lockdown in 1,200 municipalities across Spain due to fear of bird flu spreadingwhich has already forced the sacrifice of nearly 3 million specimens in our country.
The action taken by the Ministry of Agriculture is preventive in nature and is applicable In areas considered particularly vulnerableThat is, especially the municipalities of Castile and León, Catalonia and Andalusia. Currently, the highest rates of this disease are concentrated here, where farms in half of Europe are inspected and have become a global headache.
Because it brings with it preventive slaughter, which completely affects the markets, especially the egg market: the majority of the affected birds are laying hens. In fact, Spain has already lost 5% of its population Since the summer.
For this reason, the notification issued on Monday by the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, was sent directly to the industry. “We have to be very vigilant so that no one takes advantage of a situation like this to carry it out,” he said There is no kind of speculationAs for egg prices, they rose by 18% last year.
This is a situation that has gotten out of control in other countries and has sparked real crises. The most symbolic case is the case US, where a dozen cost $14 at the start of this year Specifically, we lost millions of chickens to bird flu.
In Spain, which is 120% self-sufficient and therefore allows about 20% to be exported, mainly to the European Union, the main interest at the present time is purely economic and focused on foreign trade.
Because, as they recently explained from According to the Federation of Spanish Companies in the Egg and Egg Products Production Sector (Federovo), exports can be temporarily adjusted to Prioritize internal supplies When there are tensions.
But this does not mean that there will not be new price increases. On the contrary, it has already had a significant impact on its increase, they confirm from Federovo, who estimates that it will take six months for the supply to return to normal because the impact is felt in farms that are mostly owned by families and face high expenses for slaughtering and replacing animals.
Castile and Leon, the leader of the confinement
Thus, agriculture moves to avoid major problems. The confinement, which is the most prominent among the measures that enter into force today, applies to municipalities, especially in Castilla y León, the most affected community.
In this region, 250 districts are no longer able to raise poultry outdoors. Followed by Catalonia (224) and Andalusia (197). However, the impact extends throughout Spain, with high risks in the municipalities of Aragon (128), Canary Islands (1), Cantabria (31), Castilla-La Mancha (18), Community of Madrid (16), Valencian Community (138), Extremadura (99), Galicia (40), Balearic Islands (14), La Rioja (6), Navarra (12), Basque Country (6), Principality of Asturias. (8), Murcia Region (11), Ceuta and Melilla.
Other prohibitions also come into effect for all of these high-risk sites. For example, This refers to raising ducks and geese with other types of poultry, or giving water to poultry from water tanks that are accessible to wild birds.
From 1 July to 5 November 2025, 139 bird flu outbreaks were reported in Europe. -14 of them are in Spain- In poultry, 708 in wild birds and 33 in captive birds.
In particular, in recent weeks there has been an increase in the number of cases detected, both in wild birds and poultry, “which indicates the presence of The trend is towards a worsening of the situation with consequent increased risks for Spain“, warns agriculture.
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