50 wild boar carcasses collected within African swine fever containment zone

Catalonia's Rural Agents reported on Wednesday that 50 wild boar carcasses have now been recovered within the African swine fever containment area where the first two dead animals were discovered last week.

The perimeter – including Collserola Natural Park just outside Barcelona – remains stable, and no carcasses have been found outside the established zone, where 250 personnel from the Rural Agents, local forest defence groups (ADF), the Guardia Civil and the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) have been deployed to locate animals. 

Local police forces and the Mossos d'Esquadra police bring the total deployment to more than 400 people.

Catalonia's Fire Service joined the operation on Wednesday, taking charge of disinfecting rural paths in Cerdanyola and Sant Cugat.

Efforts are focused on preventing the virus from spreading through the green corridor toward Sant Llorenç del Munt Natural Park, using a combination of chemical and physical barriers.

The Rural Agents note that although 50 animals have been found, the number of confirmed positive cases remains at nine, figures provided by Spain's agriculture ministry after analyzing samples in Madrid.

Authorities stress the significance of all positives being confined to the same area, allowing the six-kilometre restriction zone to remain unchanged.

"This is a positive scenario," said Josep Antoni Mur, the Rural Agents' chief inspector.

Current operations are focused on locating animals and keeping them inside the perimeter defined by three major roads – the C-16, C-58 and AP-7 – as well as the FGC railway line.

In recent days, at least three wild boars have been struck by trains near Cerdanyola, the latest incident occurring Tuesday evening on the FGC line.

The response protocol includes disinfecting both the tracks and the train itself to prevent ASF from spreading, the same procedure applied to all vehicles involved in control operations.

Wild boar cull

President Salvador Illa has called on the African swine fever crisis committee to “intensify” wild boar culling across Catalonia.

Speaking on Tuesday evening during his institutional trip to Mexico, Illa acknowledged that increased hunting has already been underway for some time, but said the developments of recent days require efforts to be stepped up.

"There are too many wild boars," he stated bluntly.

The Catalan president explained that his government has been in contact with hunting associations to establish mechanisms to increase population control.

Illa also said that a key objective during the crisis is to support Catalonia's pork sector. He welcomed China's decision to restrict export bans only to the affected territories, allowing the rest of the market to remain open.

"We will overcome this," Illa said from Mexico, where he continues to monitor the crisis through daily virtual meetings.

The Catalan president was speaking at the Josep Maria Murià i Romaní Library in Guadalajara, created from the personal collection of the Catalan writer, who lived in exile after the Spanish Civil War. It is the second-largest Catalan-language library in the world outside Catalonia.

Hunters issue carcass removal warning

The detection of African swine fever has placed hunters on the front line of the response to the disease.

Speaking to the Catalan News Agency (ACN), Eduard Melero, a member of the Association of Hunting and Fishing Societies of Catalonia (AGRUPCAT), said that hunters have shown "complete willingness" to help the government by carrying out what he called "surgical operations."

AGRUPCAT has compiled a list of over 100 qualified hunters ready to take specific action, including nighttime ambushes using thermal equipment and night-vision devices, prepared to intervene wherever needed.

The association warned that some meat-processing companies are refusing to collect wild boar carcasses because "it's not profitable for them" and called on the government for support to ensure proper carcass removal.

20 km restriction zone

The European Commission will decide on Wednesday whether to maintain the 20-kilometer restriction zone or to expand it.

The EU prohibits exports from ASF-restricted zones but allows meat from other areas.

Some non-EU countries with regionalization agreements follow the EU's lead – such as the United Kingdom, according to Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas – while others choose their own approach.

China, for example, has opted to restrict exports from the entire province of Barcelona, but allowing exports from the provinces of Girona, Tarragona and Lleida.

China accounts for 42% of Spain's pork exports outside the European Union. Planas specified that in 2024, Spain sold 550,674 tonnes of pork to China.

Nine cases confirmed

Spain's Ministry of Agriculture confirmed on Tuesday that nine wild boars found dead in Catalonia have tested positive for African swine fever (ASF).

The seven new positives were detected in the same area as the initial two cases reported on Friday, near Cerdanyola del Vallès on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Catalan health minister Òscar Ordeig said on Monday that the leading theory for how the infection began is that a wild boar ate a sandwich containing contaminated cured meat.