Authorities confirmed five new cases of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boars this week. All were discovered within the high-risk containment zone surrounding Barcelona’s Collserola park. These findings bring the total number of positive cases in the Catalan outbreak to 232 since it began.
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The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food confirmed that four infected animals were found in Sant Cugat del Vallès, with a fifth located in the neighbouring municipality of Sabadell. Despite the new cases, officials expressed cautious optimism, highlighting that the virus appears to remain confined to the established surveillance area.
African swine fever is a severe viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs, causing devastating economic consequences for the pork industry. While it poses no direct health risk to humans, its containment is a top priority for agricultural bodies like the European Commission to prevent its spread to farm animals.
A ‘Positive Element’ in the Fight
Speaking before the Catalan Parliament on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Òscar Ordeig struck a hopeful tone. He revealed that of 213 samples taken from wild boars in the past week, only 2.3% tested positive. “Therefore, this is a positive element,” Ordeig stated, suggesting the intensive efforts to track and capture animals are yielding results.
The government’s response involves a massive, round-the-clock operation. More than 750 personnel, primarily from the Agents Rurals (Rural Agents), are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within a 20-kilometre radius of the outbreak’s epicentre. The Generalitat de Catalunya has mobilised €24 million for the containment plan; this figure covers equipment like fences, drones, and fauna crossings but excludes the cost of deployed personnel.
This strategy includes a multi-pronged approach to reducing the wild boar population. Specialised “pigbrig” traps, capable of capturing entire family groups without dispersing them, are now used extensively. Previously, drones and high-tech traps were deployed in Collserola to halt the disease’s advance.
Culling and Containment Efforts Intensify
The government’s stated goal is to completely eliminate the wild boar presence in the high-risk zone, which includes Sant Cugat and 16 other municipalities, while drastically reducing their density in the surrounding low-risk area.
The culling figures highlight the operation’s scale. Since the start of the year, authorities have captured 22,233 wild boars across Catalonia. Within the affected area, officials removed 2,365 animals: 1,641 from the high-risk zone and 725 from the low-risk perimeter.
In addition to traps, authorities are coordinating with the Catalan Hunting Federation. Controlled hunts, involving around 300 hunters and 300 dogs, take place on weekends in low-risk areas. Furthermore, authorities introduced a newer system, known as ‘aguait’, deploying 100 hunters during the week for continuous surveillance and capture.
Access to the Parc Natural de Collserola remains strictly prohibited. Authorities reinforced restrictions on entering forests, paths, and fields after detecting a case inside Barcelona’s city limits, near Sant Just Desvern. These measures have left the normally bustling park eerily quiet; the unusually wet weather and the swine fever outbreak are keeping visitors away. The closures have also created significant economic strain, as local restaurants report a wave of cancellations amidst public confusion. Authorities remind the public not to touch any dead wild boar they may find and to report it immediately by calling 112.
