Maximum alert in Catalonia due to African swine fever (ASF) detected in the area of the Collserola natural park (Barcelona). This Sunday, the Government has requested the intervention of members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) specialized in hunting control. Sources from the Ministry of Defense have confirmed to EL PAÍS that the soldiers will join this Monday the tasks of capturing wild boars currently underway within those established around the zero point of the outbreak. The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Generalitat, Òscar Ordeig, has emphasized the health alert situation, but at the same time has sent a reassuring message by revealing that the analyzes carried out on all the animals of the 39 pig farms located near the epicenter have been negative for ASF.
Already this Sunday, a reconnaissance element from the Technological and Environmental Emergencies Intervention Group of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) from the Torrrejón de Ardoz base (Madrid) has been mobilized, “to coordinate in the area the tasks assigned by the Generalitat in support of the fight against the outbreak of African swine fever,” the Ministry of Defense reported. “Tomorrow [por el lunes] “It is planned that more troops will move to the area with the requested requirements,” he added, without specifying figures at the moment, reports Miguel Gonzalez.
Agriculture sources informed EFE of the discovery of at least eight potentially infected dead wild boars, in addition to the previous six, two of them confirmed. The positive news is that, according to Ordeig, they have appeared in the same six-kilometer area in which the first two specimens with ASF were found, one kilometer from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), in Cerdanyola. ASF is a non-zoonotic disease (with no risk of transmission to humans), but it has set off all the alarms because it is very contagious between animals and animals. Of the 14 specimens reported so far, only two have tested positive, and the rest are awaiting official confirmation from the Ministry of Agriculture laboratory.
In addition to having requested the intervention of the military unit, the Government and activities in the field 20 kilometers away also remain limited. The Collserola park is closed, and Ordeig has warned that the Mossos d’Esquadra have orders to “act forcefully” if the restriction is violated. Some 250 troops have been mobilized. If someone finds a wild boar, the authorities ask not to touch it under any circumstances and to immediately call 112 to report it. The counselor has insisted on the prohibition of access to the affected area and has warned of “zero tolerance”, at the risk of sanctions, for those who access it.
The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has expressed from Guadalajara (Mexico) – where he is attending the International Book Fair – that Catalonia “will act responsibly with respect to the rest of the territories and with respect to the sector”, and although he has admitted that “the situation is not simple”, he has asked citizens for collaboration and trust in scientific criteria, reports Camilo S. Baquero.
In a previous interview with Catalonia RadioOrdeig explained that the limitations did not work on Saturday because he recalled that Collserola is a natural park with 100 main entrances and 400 secondary entrances, “very difficult to close.” The counselor already announced then that the possibility of asking for more help was on the table and specified that security forces have already been reinforced, both from Mossos d’Escuadra, Civil Guard and Rural Agents to prevent access to Collserola, “especially the six kilometer radius that is armored.”
The capture process is being coordinated by Agents Rurals, together with the Department of Agriculture and personnel from the public company Forestal Catalana, along with the collaboration of the rest of the bodies. “This animal must be taken into custody, it must be taken to the Animal Health Research Center and it must be done with very advanced technical conditions.”
Ordeig pointed out that: “Today we have to see if there are more positives,” he pointed out. Asked if suspension of classes at the UAB, close to the radius of the outbreak, has been considered, he said that this has not been considered and that the activities of “homes, companies and university centers remain until further notice.”
The origin of the outbreak remains unknown and is being investigated. “If this virus is similar to the one other countries in Europe have, therefore, we will be able to know what the origin is,” said Ordeig, who mentioned as possible hypotheses some remains of contaminated food or that the virus has traveled in some means of transport or that the animals had obtained it by removing the remains of a trash can.
in the same place where two others were found a few days ago, in a context of alert from the authorities towards this animal disease that affects pigs and wild boars and that can put the Spanish pork sector and its exports in trouble. ASF has returned to Spain after 30 years free of cases and is a serious blow to the livestock industry. The country is the largest producer in the EU (24% of the total) and the third in the world. And Catalonia, the community where ASF has reappeared, has a very prominent role in this activity, with approximately 23% of the pig herd in all of Spain. With some 5,000 pig farms, it is the most powerful agri-food sector in Catalonia, and half of what is produced is sold outside the EU.
As a result of the outbreak, restrictions have already been established on the importation of Spanish pork by different countries. Within the European Union, where about half of the €8.8 billion worth of pork is exported each year, the ban is only limited to farms near the epicenter of the outbreak. In the case of the international market, the veto is total unless otherwise negotiated.
The Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, to explain that the Government is making every effort to “try to limit the impact on the Spanish pig sector.” This Monday the Ministry of Agriculture has called a meeting in Madrid on the outbreak of swine fever, which will be attended by representatives of the Generalitat and, predictably, of the pig sector, which has asked to participate.
According to those corresponding to the winter of 2023, the population of wild boars within the Collserola natural park was about 900 specimens, a density equivalent to 8.2 per square kilometer. The figure showed a strong adjustment in the number of specimens compared to the estimates two years earlier, when as a consequence of the reduction in hunting and control due to the pandemic, the population reached a peak of about 1,800 wild boars in 2021. Drought and hunting activity, more the latter than the former, then explained the decline.
