President Illa commissions IRTA to conduct an audit of centers working with swine fever in Collserola

BarcelonaThe President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has announced an audit of the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) to review "as a preventative measure" all the facilities and protocols of the centers working within the 20-kilometer perimeter around the outbreak of African swine fever in Cerdanyola. "The Government has not asked IRTA to take any responsibility, but the Government is not ruling out any option, nor confirming any. We have full confidence in IRTA and we will see what happened," the President stated. Regarding the origin of the outbreak, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) and the Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) have launched a joint investigation. Illa chaired a meeting this Saturday morning at the Palau de la Generalitat (Government Palace) to monitor the situation of African swine fever (ASF) in Catalonia. The Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau; The Catalan Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Núria Parlon, and the Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Òscar Ordeig, participated in the meeting, as did the Spanish government's delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto. Afterwards, she traveled to the Advanced Command Center for African Swine Fever (ASF) containment in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda.

Currently, restrictions affect 91 municipalities within a 20-kilometer control radius of the outbreak, where access to natural areas is prohibited. Leisure activities (walking, running, cycling), hunting, and forestry activities are not allowed within designated natural areas. A thousand officers from various security forces were deployed this Saturday at 79 points throughout the perimeter. The officers controlling access have not yet issued any fines for violations of the restrictions, according to Mossos d'Esquadra Superintendent Francesc Parra, who praised "the exemplary compliance of the population thus far." Regarding the possibility of expanding the security perimeter, he stated that "in principle, it is contained within both radii."

Separately, the government and key industry representatives agreed Friday night to cull the 30,000 fattening pigs on farms within the 20-kilometer restricted area.

[We are working to expand this information.]