In Sort, in Pallars Sobirà, farmers protested after 200 cattle from two farms in Soriguera were culled following a tuberculosis diagnosis. The animals, including calves as young as one month old, were loaded onto lorries for slaughter on Monday.
Farm owners Pilar Hervás and Ramon Vidal said the loss was economically and morally important, and that they had been left without anything. Under current rules, a sanitary void applies, which means all animals on an affected farm must be sacrificed.
Nearly 100 farmers from Pallars Sobirà and nearby areas gathered outside the Comarcal Agriculture Office in Sort, above the Town Hall, to oppose the culling. A tractor with a banner against the sanitary void was parked on the steps of the municipal building, with collars and bells from the culled cows displayed on it.
The protest was silent, apart from words of thanks from the affected farmers to their peers. A short statement, broadcast through the Town Hall public address system, called for the Pyrenean valleys to be declared a sanitary emergency zone and for an end to sanitary culls linked to tuberculosis spread by uncontrolled wild and game fauna across livestock areas from Val d'Aran to the Girona Pyrenees.
The manifesto said the culls in Tornafort and Puigforniu should be the last, given the economic and social impact. Farmers said the issue affects the whole sector, and that the lack of sanitary controls on wild and game animals is at the root of the problem.
The protest was backed by agricultural organisations including ASAJA, the Animal Health Defence Association (ADS), Revolta Pagesa and the Bruna del Pirineu Cow Association, along with several local mayors. Agriculture Minister Òscar Ordeig said his department has supported the affected farmers from the start and will provide all necessary administrative resources, with compensation for the sacrifices and lost profits so the farm can continue.
Ordeig said the measure follows European rules aimed at keeping Catalonia tuberculosis-free, and that the administration must act with sensitivity and flexibility. He also said a recently presented plan to manage game fauna will help target areas where tuberculosis has risen, after 5% of 4,000 hunted and analysed game animals tested positive. He said changing Catalonia's tuberculosis-free status is not currently being considered, as that decision is made by Brussels. More Catalonia news