The decision was made after a key meeting between representatives of the Government and the Catalan Hunting Federation, including the president of the entity in Lleida, Toni Vilarrubla. The main objective is to mitigate the risk of transmission of African Swine Fever (ASF), a disease that does not affect humans but is devastating for livestock.
The presence of wild boars is already uncontrolled, and the measure comes late, although we value it positively.
Agrarian unions, which have been demanding strong action for years, have positively assessed the initiative but warned that the current situation of the wild boar population is “uncontrolled”. The plan also includes reinforcing biosecurity on all farms in Catalonia, as announced by Òscar Ordeig.
This action is part of a context of high health surveillance in the livestock sector. In parallel, the Game Fauna Population Control Plan has been activated in 22 municipalities in Alt Urgell, Pallars Jussà, and Pallars Sobirà due to the risk of bovine tuberculosis transmission.
Furthermore, the Spanish Government has ordered the confinement of all outdoor poultry as a “reinforcement preventive measure” given the increased risk of expansion of Avian Flu across the country, a measure previously applied in 223 Catalan municipalities.
