Toledo (EFE) The 6,000 sheep and goat farms in Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Toledo and Albacete, which have around 3.5 million heads, have been immobilized since Tuesday due to sheep pox.
It is a highly contagious disease with high mortality among animals but it does not affect humans or the milk or cheese they produce.
The general director of Agriculture and Livestock of Castilla-La Mancha, Cruz Ponce, has reported on the situation of sheep pox, which was detected in September 2022 in ten farms in the province of Cuenca, in which almost 40,000 have been slaughtered. animals: 29,000 heads in six foci in Villaescusa de Haro and 8,500 animals in four foci located in Tébar and La Alberca de Záncara.
The decision to immobilize all the sheep and goats in the region (except Guadalajara, which has a very minority herd) has been made when animals with symptoms compatible with smallpox were found this week on a large farm in the province of Ciudad Real, therefore, away from the sources that already existed in Cuenca.
Sheep pox is included in category A within the European Union animal disease regulation, which implies adopting a series of measures in the event of outbreaks being detected.
At this time, Castilla-La Mancha is the only European region with sheep pox, since the outbreaks have ended in Andalusia.
Sheep pox arrived in Cuenca from Granada
In fact, the virus arrived in Cuenca from a farm in Granada.
Since cases of sheep pox were detected in Cuenca, a series of measures have been applied, such as declaring a restriction zone up to 10 kilometers in radius, the slaughter of all animals on positive farms, as established by European and Spanish regulations, and Prepare epidemiological surveys on farms, milk quality control and sample collection (10,000) on farms close to the restriction zones.
The detection of the suspected case in Ciudad Real means that the most probable origin of this contagion is the movement of livestock and to stop the ease of spread, the Ministry has decided to close all the feedlots in the region, except Guadalajara, and authorize only animal movements. destined for the slaughterhouse, although it will be possible to continue collecting milk on the farms and the animals can also graze.
The restrictions, which will be published this Wednesday or Thursday in the Official Gazette of the region, must be applied from this Tuesday and include correctly cleaning and disinfecting the means of transport and expanding the scope of sampling to reach 500 farms in two months.
No deadline for the measures, necessary to avoid greater evils
There is no deadline for the measure as it will depend on how the situation evolves and the results of the samples, but “the idea”, Cruz Ponce said, is that the feedlots finish completing their baiting cycle (between one and two months), send the animals to the slaughterhouse, disinfect the facilities and the activity can be resumed “with the greatest security”.
The general director has specified that “the positive” of these sanitary measures, which she has recognized are “onerous and burdensome” for farmers, administrations and markets, is that the farms will be able to continue fattening to take them to the slaughterhouse.
“This disease is affecting a very important sector for livestock in Castilla-La Mancha, with a strong export vocation, and we must all conduct ourselves with the greatest prudence,” said Ponce, who stated that the measures are necessary to “avoid greater evils ».
Compensation to farmers
Until last December, the Board has paid the affected farmers in the province of Cuenca 4 million euros in compensation, according to amounts set by the Ministry.
At this time, it is drawing up an order to compensate farmers who are going to reintroduce cattle to their farms once the one they had is slaughtered, a measure that tries to compensate the difference between the price of the sheep that the farmer buys and what you have received in compensation
At the same time, he is preparing another order to compensate for various issues related to sheep pox.
The general director of Agriculture and Livestock has underlined the important role that farmers have, who are being informed by letter, through organizations and with information days.
