"The available data indicate that the outbreak began between September and October, not later." This is one of the first conclusions drawn by IRTA-CReSA—the leading animal health institution in Catalonia—regarding the origin of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Catalonia. IRTA, which is also one of Europe's most established research centers on ASF, raises the possibility that the ASF outbreak began one or two months before the first case of African swine fever was detected in Bellaterra at the end of November. IRTA-CReSA explains this in a statement, asserting that the center "is pleased that it has been confirmed that it is not the origin of the African swine fever outbreak." "Scientific evidence confirms this," they emphasize in the document, where they recall that the initial state report, made public last week, shows how "the genetic sequencing of the pathogen that infected the animals found dead in the wild has been compared with the DNA of the strains used in the IRTA biosafety facilities." Furthermore, IRTA announces that "in the coming weeks" it will launch a study on the degree of virulence, behavior, and transmissibility of the virus causing the outbreak. In this regard, they detail that up to this week, more than a thousand samples have been analyzed, of which 155 have tested positive for African swine fever (ASF), and eighteen tons of meat related to the outbreak have been incinerated—the same amount that is usually incinerated in nine months. Moreover, the researchers are also working on the analysis and processing of the data, which is shared daily with the Department of Agriculture. It is in this part of the investigation where they have They found that "the available data" indicate that the outbreak began between September and October 2025. Regarding its origin, IRTA insists that "everything points to the investigations having to refocus on the introduction of contaminated food into the country." In other words, the famous sandwich theory.

"I'm from a farming family, the smell of pigs has never bothered me," says 20-year-old Ariadna Rovira. She grew up on a farm in Sagàs, but lives in Solsona, where she first became interested in hunting. Today she's part of the Berga hunting group and criticizes people who think that killing animals makes them murderers.

It is estimated that there are around 200,000 wild boars in Catalonia, distributed unevenly across the territory. A monitoring program has been in place for two decades, documenting the differences in population density: there are more than fifteen animals per square kilometer in Alt Empordà and Les Gavarres, fewer than three in Els Ports de Tortosa-Beseit, and between three and six along the coast. Collserola ParkThe area is where the outbreak of African swine fever, which has raised all the alarms, is concentrated. Generous rainfall, an abundance of holm oaks, oaks, and beech forests, along with extensive irrigated crops, favor the proliferation of these animals, which generally follow an upward demographic trend. In fact, the Catalan government's program indicates that "wild boar populations do not appear to be close to reaching their peak and have the potential to continue growing."

Until recently, it was thought that the remote islands of the Mediterranean had been uninhabited until the arrival of the first farmers and ranchers. Research published in the journal Nature The study, led by Eleanor Scerri, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (Germany) and the University of Malta, with the participation of Ethel Allué and Aitor Burguet-Coca from IPHES-BÚSQUEDA and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV), documents a voyage for the first time. According to the study's authors, this voyage was carried out using "dug-out canoes without sails." The navigators oriented themselves using the stars, ocean currents, and coastal landmarks.