Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Spain Confirms 16 ASF-Positive Wild Boar Near Barcelona as Containment Tightens and Origin Probe Widens

Initial expert findings are due next week to guide the containment and trade recovery effort.

Overview

  • Spain’s reference lab confirmed three additional wild boar with African swine fever, raising the total to 16 in Cerdanyola while 115 other carcasses tested negative and 55 nearby pig farms remain clear.
  • Authorities have fenced a 6‑km perimeter, kept a 20‑km access restriction, and begun organized captures in the wider ring to prevent spread, with 32 wildlife corridors blocked and weekend forest closures enforced.
  • The central government’s scientific committee held its first meeting and targets an initial report within about six weeks as Catalonia expects an early assessment next week and includes private companies in its sample reviews.
  • Audits and a judicial investigation continue into possible laboratory links flagged by genetic analyses, while IRTA‑CReSA says there is no evidence explaining the origin and reports no biosecurity failures.
  • The outbreak is already hitting the economy with an approved ERTE for 458 slaughterhouse workers, authorization to cull over 30,000 healthy pigs for domestic sale only, and export limits, while Castilla y León authorizes unlimited boar hunting temporarily and Cantabria plans tighter controls in Picos de Europa for 2026.