First pigs from African swine fever containment zone sent to slaughterhouses for domestic consumption

Slaughterhouses have begun receiving the first pigs from farms located within the 20-kilometre African swine fever (ASF) containment zone, Catalonia's Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, announced on Tuesday.

Meat from the 35,600 pigs will be sold domestically for human consumption, as exports are not permitted.

Speaking at a press conference after meeting with representatives from the pork sector, Ordeig confirmed that the animals have passed all tests showing they are not infected.

Separately, the government is finalizing a report commissioned by President Salvador Illa to analyse wild boar density in Catalonia's forests and to establish measures to increase culling.

Economic support 

The Unió de Pagesos and Asaja farmers' unions have said that African swine fever is causing losses of €24 million per week across Spain. For them, the €10 million in financial aid announced by the Catalan government is "insufficient."

"This will not be enough, and we will continue pushing for new subsidies based on the sector's needs,” said Rossend Saltiveri, head of the pork sector at Unió de Pagesos, after the meeting at the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona.

The sector is also calling for a decisive reduction in the wild boar population.

"What must be done is to cull wild boars. We cannot afford to lose a single farm," said Pere Roqué, president of Asaja Catalunya.

Ordeig defended the measures announced by the government, including the initial €10 million, expandable by another €10 million, and access to a €50 million line of credit from the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF). 

Monitoring of restrictions

On closing natural areas to the public, Ordeig said: "We will not extend restrictions beyond what is strictly necessary," stressing that the goal is to minimize the impact of ASF.

He also noted that no new positive cases have been detected, and restrictions will remain in place until December 14 as planned.

The minister praised the public's compliance with restrictions in natural areas over the weekend and said that the emergency line 112 has received around 1,700 ASF-related calls since the outbreak began 11 days ago.

Investigation

Earlier on Tuesday, the Catalan High Court reported that a judge in Cerdanyola del Vallès will investigate the ASF outbreak. The court will study whether the outbreak could be a crime against the environment.