Justice and the Government prevent the relaxation of tuberculosis controls in the cows of Castilla y León

The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla y León (TSJCyL) has attended the appeal of the Ministry of Agriculture against a regulation of Castilla y León that relaxes the controls of bovine tuberculosis. The Government already limited last week the movement of cattle from this territory "to avoid putting at risk the sanitary level of the Spanish and community livestock herd." The State Attorney's Office based its request on the fact that the Board's rule violates European and national regulations because it relaxes the inspection and monitoring of this contagious disease in cattle. Castilla y León, led by PP and Vox in coalition, has not opposed the precautionary measure, so it agrees to suspend its own legislation initially aimed at making livestock sanitation more flexible.

The farmers have reacted with indignation to these movements and on Monday morning they had to be contained when they tried to take the territorial delegation of the Junta in Salamanca. Riot police have arrested one person after a group attacked, pushing fences and officers and throwing eggs or flares. The call has been made by the Union for Livestock, an association that brings together several rural groups in Salamanca and demanded "the immediate cessation of the head of Animal Health of Salamanca, the head of Animal Health of Castilla y León and the general director of Health of the Ministry ".

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The controversial regional order, which emanates from the Ministry of Agriculture, commanded by Gerardo Dueñas (Vox), reduces the requirements for a livestock farm affected by bovine tuberculosis to return to normal. This disease (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex) is highly contagious and the European Commission orders countries to strictly monitor it so that it is eradicated. This tuberculosis is transmissible to humans and can become a "public health problem," according to the Ministry of Agriculture, led by Luis Planas. The regulations of Castilla y León, which must be suspended "as soon as possible" according to the judicial opinion, lowered the controls for the concession, maintenance, suspension, withdrawal and recovery of the status of exploitation free of bovine tuberculosis. Thus, it would lead to potentially sick animals or whose health was not guaranteed by coming from environments with the presence of this bacterium could end up in other provinces or nations, thus spreading the bacteria.

Dozens of protesters try to force their way into the Territorial Delegation of the Junta de Castilla y León in Salamanca on Monday. Manuel Laya (Europa Press)

The ministry issued this instruction because it considered that the relaxation of surveillance meant "exempting farms from mandatory movement tests to prevent the disease from spreading", "allowing departures from farms, with the health status suspended or withdrawn, according to Community regulations, to farms classified as free of the disease" or "relaxing the requirements of farms affected by this infectious animal disease for the obtaining the sanitary qualification of free of bovine tuberculosis". Only León, Burgos and Valladolid are on the margin, in Castilla y León, of these legal instructions because they are considered places without bovine tuberculosis. These three provinces join Asturias, the Canary Islands, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Murcia and the Basque Country as territories where there are no detected cases of this animal disease.

The Official Gazette of Castilla y León (Bocyl) collected on May 15 the resolution of May 10, 2023 of the General Directorate of Agricultural and Livestock Production, which explains the softening of the examinations to livestock. The text admits that the Commission seeks to eradicate the disease by 2030 and not exceed 0.1% incidence rate in a country. The Board then explained that in seven of the provinces there are less than 1% of cases and that only Salamanca and Ávila, which agglutinate 55% of the autonomous cattle herd, exceed that limit. Castilla y León is the Spanish community with the most cows, according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in 2021. The autonomy then had 589,699 ruminants of this type, one cow for every four inhabitants, 27% of the national total.

The Board's non-opposition to this measure means that it accepts the suspension of its own regulations. The regional spokesman, Carlos Fernández Carriedo (PP), anticipated it a few days ago: "We want to end as quickly as possible that restriction [the limitation of bovine movement] established by the ministerial order." Carriedo rejected in that appearance the government instruction, now ratified by the justice, protected the measure in "defending the interests of Castilla y León and attending to the interest of the health of the cattle" and added that it would be good for his community to prevent the ministerial order to paralyze the movement of cows. The vice president of the Board, Juan García-Gallardo (Vox), published a video in 2022 with epic music and a bucolic atmosphere of cows in León accompanied by the message: "Health controls are compatible with the principle of proportionality. We're not going to kill flies with cannons." A year later, the Government that co-directs approved this regulation rejected by the central Executive and the justice.

Glass damaged by farmers in the Territorial Delegation of the Junta de Castilla y León in Salamanca, on Monday. Manuel Laya (Europa Press)

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