Agriculture prepares for wild boar captures in Collserola this Sunday
He insists that access to the park be prohibited due to swine fever, and the Provincial Council suspends activities in its natural parks.
Barcelona / MadridWild boar will be captured this Sunday in Collserola Park, after four new suspected cases of African swine fever were reported on Saturday. Farmers, hunters, and representatives from the department met to finalize the details of the operation, while the Department of Agriculture is asking citizens to respect the restrictions and not enter the park or the rural areas of the affected municipalities. The wild boar will be captured using cages, traps, and repellents to keep them contained within a perimeter and prevent them from escaping. Additionally, three of the natural parks surrounding Barcelona, managed by the Barcelona Provincial Council, have suspended several activities scheduled for this Sunday due to the swine fever outbreak. These include the guided tour of the Mura cave in Sant Llorenç Park; the mushroom walk in Marina Park; and the visit to Sant Miquel del Fai.
Regarding the captures this Sunday, they will not be part of a cull. "The main objective is for the disease to stay where it is and not spread. No raids are being carried out." Because they have a problem. They can cause the wild boars to leave and spread the disease beyond the marked perimeter,” Rossend Saltiveri, head of pig farming at the Unió de Pagesos farmers' union, emphasized in an interview with 3CatInfo. The aim is to “empty this area of wild boars,” he added. African swine fever, in the same affected area as the first two. The Catalan government has prohibited activities in the natural environment within a six-kilometer radius of the area where the [unclear] were found. wild boars killed by the diseaseThe measure affects twelve municipalities: Sabadell, Sant Quirze, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Montcada i Reixac, Ripollet, Barberà, Cerdanyola, Sant Cugat, Terrassa, and Rubí. In this area, the Catalan government has established a complete closure of access to the natural environment, suspending all hunting and forestry work, and prohibiting any activity in rural areas. Access to the entire Collserola Park is also restricted for recreational activities. Ordeig has asked for "responsibility" from the public: "With a vehicle, a bicycle, or even a footprint containing contaminated material from an animal, the disease could spread," he warned.
The Catalan government has also confirmed that it will implement physical and chemical barriers, set traps for wild boar control, and activate joint operations with the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), Seprona (Nature Protection Service of the Civil Guard), and technicians from the Department of Agriculture. In a second security perimeter, this one with a 20-kilometer radius around the outbreak's epicenter, affecting 64 municipalities, leisure activities, hunting, and those related to biodiversity are also restricted, and any actions that could interfere with population control and biosecurity efforts are prohibited. A total ban on foreign trade of pork products originating in the affected area is also in effect within this perimeter. Sources from the Department of Agriculture add that the Rural Agents Corps has deployed approximately fifty officers to mark the affected area, monitor the situation, and search for and collect wild boar carcasses. This operation also includes members of the canine support unit, with dogs trained to detect animal carcasses. Rural Agents are also using drones and a helicopter in the area, and are collaborating with the Forest Defense Groups, with a total of 25 personnel deployed. Regarding the surveillance of the affected areas, this is being coordinated through Rural Agents, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police), the Civil Guard, and local police forces.
What is the origin?
"We must concentrate all our efforts in this [20-kilometer] zone to eradicate all possible cases and prevent its spread," stated the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Luis Planas, at a press conference this Saturday. Planas noted that, for now, no cases have been detected on pig farms, only in wild boar, making the implementation of measures "important." "It is a disease that can spread very easily," acknowledged Planas, who insisted that "an effort is underway with the Catalan government to carry out a sanitation of the area," he said.
The Ministry explains that an investigation is already underway to determine the possible origin of the plague detected in wild boars in Collserola. "I myself have wondered how a country free of African swine fever can suddenly detect two cases," the Minister confessed at a press conference, recalling that the disease reappeared in the European Union in 2014. Although its origin is currently unknown, the cases detected in Catalonia and Belgium are linked to wild boars in areas very close to major transportation routes, i.e., highways. "We have the AP-7 right next to us," Planas pointed out, reminding everyone that once a case is detected, the affected country is not considered free of swine fever for up to a year.
Advice in the affected municipalities
The Department of Agriculture convened an emergency meeting with the mayors of the affected municipalities, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the county councils, and the management of Collserola Park to coordinate actions and ensure the maximum effectiveness of the operation. The Catalan Government advises the affected municipalities to intensify the cleaning of litter bins and containers, place cat feeders in elevated locations, inform the public that feeding wild boars is prohibited, close picnic areas until further notice, and call 112 if a dead wild boar is found and not to touch it. The Government reiterates that African swine fever does not affect humans, but poses a serious risk to the pig farming sector. Therefore, it requests the cooperation of all citizens and local authorities to guarantee the effectiveness of the measures adopted.