TOLEDO.- The Government of Castilla-La Mancha has confirmed a focus of sheep bluetongue serotype 3 in the Toledo region of Oropesa and has warned of “tougher” restrictions to prevent its spread.
This Friday from Villarrobledo (Albacete) the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Julián Martínez Lizán, explained that the news was received that same morning, “evidence” that, as they had been announcing, “would arrive in one time or another.” “We already have the obvious confirmation that there is currently the presence of serotypes 1, 3, 4 and 8 in the region,” he stated.
Similarly, Martínez Lizán explained that although some of these serotypes “problematic due to the consequences they have” have been coexisted “routinely for a long time”, he highlighted that serotype 3 is theWhat most “harmful impact can have on farms”.
In this sense, the counselor specified that he is “working very intensely, daily” with the Ministry of Agriculture, following the request made by the Ministry for the serotype 3 vaccine supplywhich is “the one that was most difficult to obtain because it was the least common one we had and the one that we ranchers most need to provide.”
Likewise, Martínez Lizán stated that for the rest of the serotypes, work is being done on trying to unify the different serotypes in the same vaccine by the laboratories and has announced the opening a channel to request aid for the livestock health defense associations so that they can buy these vaccines, with aid of almost “90 percent of the cost” from the regional administration.
“GREATEST POSSIBLE FLEXIBILITY”
For its part, after learning of the detection of this bluetongue serotype 3 focus in the province of Toledo, Asaja Castilla-La Mancha requested the competent authorities for “the greatest possible flexibility” in the regulation of livestock movements.
The agrarian organization, in constant coordination with the Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed that its objective is protect the health and welfare of animalswhile facilitating livestock movements for mitigate the impact about the sector.
The head of livestock farming at Asaja Castilla-La Mancha, María Tapia, explained that the agricultural organization is in permanent contact with the Ministry and the Ministry so that the health control measures that are implemented affect the activity of the livestock farmers as little as possible. and its economic viability.
“We are vigilant in the face of the constant changes in the evolution of this disease that does not affect humans, but does affect sheep, goats and cattle. Our commitment is to work together with the administrations to ensure the health safety of the livestock herd without this meaning a brake on activity or a new economic setback for ranchers, especially taking into account that this virus is transmitted through a vector, a mosquito, and depending on air currents,” Tapia pointed out.
Likewise, the person in charge asked ranchers “to follow official recommendations, apply the appropriate repellents and disinfestation treatments and take extreme precautions until the vector-free seasonal period arrives.”
This period, it indicated, is set for December 1 in the provinces of Albacete, Cuenca and Guadalajara and December 15 for Ciudad Real and Toledo.
“The situation is complicated but temporary, because We have the period of free seasonality very close in which there will no longer be restrictions on movements,” he noted.
In addition, the person in charge of livestock pointed out that they are “very attentive to the conversations between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Moroccan authorities to see how the demands of the farmers finally turn out.” export movements due to the lack of vaccine and we trust that we will soon have good news for our ranchers.”
He also valued the work being carried out by five autonomous communities (Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Madrid and Andalusia) to reach table agreements, an option that the Ministry of Agriculture has allowed to speed up movements between these regions.
Finally, Asaja Castilla-La Mancha also asked the authorities to join forces to achieve combined vaccines that include the different serotypes of the virus.
The organization highlighted that “this option would reduce the logistical complexities and the time that farmers must dedicate to confinement and handling of livestock during the vaccination process, simplifying the task and reducing stress for both animals and producers.”
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