The Catalan government has reached an agreement with the farming sector to cull 30,000 healthy pigs on farms near the African swine fever outbreak detected in Barcelona's Collserola range. The measure, agreed upon in an urgent meeting on Friday, aims to prevent the spread of the outbreak and reassure a key economic sector. The meat from these animals will be used for internal consumption.
On Friday, December 5, 2025, the Catalan government held an urgent meeting with farming sector representatives, including the Association of Young Farmers and Ranchers of Catalonia (JARC) and Asaja, to address the African swine fever outbreak in the Collserola range. Attendees included Presidency counselor Albert Dalmau; Agriculture counselor Òscar Ordeig; and Research counselor Núria Montserrat. The agreement involves culling about 30,000 healthy pigs on 39 farms in the 20-kilometer surveillance perimeter around the focus, initially detected in wild boars. The process will start next week at an identified slaughterhouse, with the meat, fit for consumption, used internally, as explained by JARC to Europa Press.
The measure follows the detection of 15 infected animals since the alarm was raised, leading to the closure of some markets and a 10-cent drop in pork prices to 1.20 euros per kilo. The European Commission has identified 91 affected municipalities. The porcine sector, crucial to the Catalan economy, had demanded this action, like Mercolleida, to stabilize prices and prevent further losses. Asaja has supported the initiative to reassure the sector, noting its impact on billing.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is investigating the outbreak's origin, with indications it may have escaped from a laboratory on the edge of Collserola. A report from the Animal Health Research Center (CISA-INIA) in Valdeolmos, Madrid, concludes the virus does not match those circulating in the EU but aligns with experimental strains. Sector representatives have avoided speculating on this hypothesis. The Catalan government stresses that most dead pigs are free of the disease, aiming to ease concerns in the sector.
