Catalonia extends African swine fever restrictions through summer

The Catalan government announced that restrictions aimed at containing African swine fever (ASF) in the Collserola natural area and surrounding municipalities will remain in place at least until the end of summer. The decision follows a virtual meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister Óscar Ordeig with mayors and councilors from 19 affected towns, including Sant Cugat del Vallès, which discussed pilot programmes for limited, controlled reopenings but received no definitive timetable.

Separately, the hunting sector warned that the ASF outbreak detected in November could spread to other Spanish autonomous communities, posing serious risks to both wildlife management and livestock. In a technical forum organized by the Fundación Artemisan and Fundación Bergara, experts called for swift, coordinated actions such as carcass detection, fencing, trapping and selective hunting to curb the disease's transmission.

Both initiatives underscore the government’s effort to protect the pig industry, which involves thousands of jobs, and to mitigate broader agricultural and environmental impacts.