BarcelonaThe Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Óscar Ordeig, defended this Tuesday the “full independence” and “absolute autonomy” of the group of experts investigating the origin of the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Collserola. This committee, created by the Government, must clarify whether the virus of this disease has arrived from another country – for example, through contaminated meat or other biological remains of infected pigs – or if, as at the moment it seems more likely, it originated in a laboratory, possibly the Animal Health Research Center (Cresa-Irta), which is based a few kilometers from where the first two boars killed by the virus were found.
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“No one has more desire, incentives and predisposition to clarify” the origin of the outbreak than the Generalitat, Ordeig said in a press conference. According to the minister, the members of the committee, appointed this Sunday, are “recognized experts from other institutions” outside Cresa and, therefore, have full capacity to freely investigate the origin of the epidemic. “Let the scientists work,” he reiterated.
In total, however, the committee is made up of six experts. The four independent experts mentioned by Ordeig and two other members of the Agro-Food Research and Technology Institute (Irta), on which Cresa depends. In addition, the logistics coordinator will be the director of Cresa himself, Josep Usall, although he is not formally part of the committee. In the counsellor’s opinion, this inclusion of two members of Irta does not detract from the independence of the work of the expert group, but is justified, as it is necessary to clarify technical issues of the operation of the institution, its laboratories and the research carried out there.
Ordeig also added that the Generalitat is open to any other external input: “All scientists from the country, Spain and Europe will be welcome and listened to”, he said.
A court in Cerdanyola del Vallès will be in charge of opening proceedings to clarify whether there has been an alleged crime against the environment. Ordeig has shown “the full collaboration” of the Generalitat with the justice system should it be necessary.
At the moment, the councilor keeps the total number of positive cases at 13, all detected within the radius of 6 kilometers considered as the origin of the outbreak. In addition, “today will end 100% of the search” of the area to find dead or infected wild boars ranging from a radius of 6 to 10 km, which has been carried out 50% on foot, 30% with drones and 20% with canine units, according to Ordeig. From here, the traced area will be expanded up to the 20 kilometer radius that marks the infected area. At the moment, wild boars continue to arrive for study, a “normal” fact due to the high density of this mammal in the Collserola area, but Ordeig has recalled that “the vast majority” are negative cases.
Similarly, virus controls are maintained in the animals of the 55 farms located in the 91 municipalities within a radius of 20 kilometers, all with negative results. Ordeig reported that “animals are already being taken to the slaughterhouse for weight reasons”, as planned. Before going to the slaughterhouse, the pigs are tested to rule out that they are infected by the disease. The slaughtered animals will be destined for domestic consumption.
Reduction of the wild boar population
At the same time, the Government is preparing a plan to reduce the wild boar population as one of the responses to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) which affects these animals in the Collserola area and which has forced the declaration of a health emergency and the halting of pork exports from the State, as Ordeig has also announced. The outbreak of the epidemic has highlighted the high population density of wild boars in the natural environment, a fact that was already known but that until now had not had a shock plan to put a solution to it.
It is a plan requested by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, to “increase the capture of wild boars and reduce the negative impact that wild boars have”, as explained by the minister. “We need to eliminate the wild boar population. You can say in one language or another, in Girona, Lleida or the Pyrenees: There are too many wild boars,” stressed Ordeig. The councilor emphasized that in recent years there has been a slight decrease in the density of wild boars per square kilometer in many areas of Catalonia, but not enough and that it does not compensate for the strong increase in the presence of these mammals in the last two decades. The councilor gave the example of the Taula del Senglar de Collserola, which has halved the population of this mammal in the area and 70% the incidents it causes, but this is a unique case that has not yet spread to other parts of Catalonia.
The Generalitat considers that it is necessary to reduce the wild boar population due to the problems caused by overpopulation, starting with the spread of PPA – a virus that affects domestic pigs and wild boars, but not humans or other animals -, but also other diseases that do affect people’s health, such as tuberculosis. “They go to the cities, where they shouldn’t be, they interact with people and cause damage to agriculture and accidents on our roads. This cannot be,” declared Ordeig.
In this sense, 10 days ago the Government awarded one million euros to programs to reduce the population of this animal and gives aid of between 25 and 30 euros per dead specimen to compensate for transport costs, in addition to aid for “the commercialization of game meat” and other projects to promote traditional cuisine that includes meat from this animal.
Ordeig has opined, however, that “there is a need for a change of mentality in the general public about forest management and the overpopulation of synegetic fauna”, to apply new measures “with rigor and professional criteria”. In addition, he has asked to “park prejudices towards hunters and farmers”.
Approval of aid
On the other hand, the executive council formally approved this Tuesday the various economic support measures for companies affected by the PPA announced last week by the Government. Thus, last week the Generalitat opened a subsidy line of 10 million euros – expandable to another 10 million – to “mitigate the economic impact that the disease may cause”, as the Government has informed in a statement. In addition, the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF) keeps open a line of credit for “companies and entities affected by climate emergencies” which include African swine fever.
On the possibility of giving public aid to businesses affected by movement restrictions within a 20 kilometer radius, Ordeig said that the Catalan executive is ready to study it if it can be demonstrated, but he assured that “it is still early”. The councilor thanked citizens for respecting the restrictions on access to natural areas in the 91 municipalities during the Puríssima long weekend, measures that will remain in place until December 14.
After the regionalized reopening of the South Korean market to Spanish pork, Ordeig has stated that the current priority is to achieve the reopening of Japan and the Philippines. While in the second case the talks between the Spanish and Philippine governments remain open, in the first the councilor is more pessimistic, just like in the case of Mexico.
