Spanish authorities have launched a major operation involving hundreds of personnel to contain a dangerous outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) detected near Barcelona, a move critical to protecting the country's multi-billion euro pork export industry.
Emergency Response and Suspected Origin
The alarm was raised after two dead wild boars tested positive for the highly infectious virus last week in the municipality of Bellaterra, Catalonia. This marks the first recorded case of ASF in Spain since 1994. In response, a 4-mile (6km) exclusion zone has been established around the area, with a police car famously photographed blocking the entrance to the nearby Natural Park of Collserola.
Officials are investigating a leading hypothesis that the outbreak began when a wild boar consumed contaminated food brought into the country. Catalonia’s agriculture minister, Òscar Ordeig, suggested on local radio that the source could have been "cold meat, a sandwich or a contaminated product that arrived by road," citing the high volume of hauliers passing through Bellaterra.
Massive Deployment to Tackle the Threat
The regional and national government response has been swift and substantial. A force of 117 personnel from Spain’s military emergencies unit has been dispatched to the zone. They are tasked with disinfecting affected areas, removing animal carcasses, and using drone surveillance to monitor the situation. In total, hundreds of police officers, wildlife rangers, and military staff are involved in the containment effort.
The public has been urgently warned not to feed wild boar and to report any dead animals immediately to the emergency services. Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, emphasised that his administration was acting with "full transparency" and in close coordination with other government bodies to stop the outbreak.
Economic Stakes for Europe's Top Pork Producer
The economic implications are severe. Spain is the European Union's largest pork producer, with an export industry worth €8.8bn annually. Last year alone, it exported €5.1bn of pig meat to other EU countries and nearly €3.7bn to markets outside the bloc. The country slaughtered 58 million pigs in 2021.
The outbreak has already triggered trade restrictions. China, which accounts for almost 42% of Spain’s non-EU pork exports (worth €1.1bn), has halted imports from the province of Barcelona. Spain's agriculture minister, Luis Planas, met with industry representatives, stating it was "good news" that the ban was limited to one province. He confirmed that two-thirds of Spain’s pork export certificates remain active, with work underway to lift restrictions on the remaining third.
African swine fever is harmless to humans but is often fatal to pigs and wild boar. The virus can spread through direct contact, via insects like ticks, and can survive for months in processed meat and years in frozen carcasses, making it a persistent cross-border threat. The situation in Spain echoes previous crises, such as the 2018 outbreak in China that led to the loss of millions of pigs and the virus's later confirmation in Germany's swine herds.
