Concern is spreading among Cordoba livestock sector faced with the sales campaign linked to Christmas due to the appearance of cases of bluetongue in sheep and cattle farms in neighboring provinces. The main consequence of all this is the limitation of the movements to which these animals are subject, with the harm that this entails for their owners. Faced with this situation, the Junta de Andalucía got to work and launched a livestock vaccination plan to prevent the spread of this disease, which is transmitted by a mosquito and has no impact on humans.
However, in Asaja, it is considered that the figure of vaccinations and the pace at which they are implemented are not sufficient to guarantee the safety of existing livestock in Córdoba, with a particular impact in the north, where most of the livestock activity is concentrated.
It was seven years ago when the latest epidemic of what is called bluetongue. It was that of serotypes 1 and 4whose cattle have since been required to be vaccinated. What arouses fear among breeders is the fact that this summer, variant 3 of this pathology arrived from Portugal, for which there is vaccination. Since then, cases have been reported in the districts of Huelva and Seville, as well as in Extremadura.
The regulation establishes that farms located within less than 150 kilometers from a home, they have limited movements to areas free of their animals for life; That is to say, go to, for example, a feedlot, but there is no prohibition if your destination is the slaughterhouse.
The Council’s vision
More recently, cattle infected with bluetongue have been detected Catalonia and Aragonbut serotype 8, unknown until now. There is currently no vaccine for this modality, although these cases are currently far from Córdoba.
The territorial delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Francisco Acosta, assured ABC that “to date we have not declared no cases in Cordoba“. Despite this, the Andalusian government launched a plan to vaccinate the province’s livestock at the end of October, which consisted of the acquisition of some 313,000 doses.
According to the information provided by this representative of the Autonomous Administration, they have already 166,000 of these vaccinations131,000 sheep and 35,000 cattle. “New vaccines, of which no adverse effects have been reported so far in cattle, are expected to arrive in the coming days to cover all animals likely to be affected in Córdoba,” Acosta said. He also explained that these restrictions should end on December 15, considering that on these dates the temperatures will be lower and that this will negate the possibility of the existence of transmitting mosquitoes.
Both the delegate and the representatives of the breeding sector consulted recall that this disease has a greater impact on breeding. sheepas it can lead to death, while in cows the symptoms are milder, although they often lead to a reduction in milk production.
Acosta stressed that his ministry maintains constant contact with the most representative cooperatives from the north of the province, such as Covap, Corpedroches and Merinos del Sur.
For his part, the president of Asaja de Córdoba, Fernando Adell, echoed the “enormous concern” that exists among breeders, especially in the case of sheep, due to the impact of the movement limitationsI’m looking forward to the Christmas campaign. “If these restrictions end on December 15 as planned by the Council due to the onset of cold weather, the sector will hardly have time to slaughter all the animals it plans to market for this period, but the situation could be worse if the temperatures from there today they are still light, which would pose a big problem for transport.
A few doses
Adell has been very critical of the regional administration regarding its vaccination policy. “The acquired doses are not even a start because does not cover all ruminants who can contract the disease, which can prevent the farmer from selling his animals and thus generate economic losses which make it difficult to acquire food for his livestock in winter”, declared the president of the agricultural employers’ association.
Official statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development indicate that in 2023between cattle and sheep, Cordoba had a total of 650,330 headsthe highest figure in all of Andalusia.
