Spanish officials on Monday confirmed plans to cull more than 120 cattle following the country’s first recorded outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD), a highly contagious viral infection affecting cows.
The infection was identified at a dairy farm in the Girona province of Catalonia, close to the French border, after several animals began displaying symptoms, according to a statement from the regional government on Saturday.
Lumpy skin disease, transmitted through insect bites, is widespread in parts of North Africa. It causes painful skin lesions and can severely reduce milk production in affected cattle. Though it poses no risk to humans, the disease frequently results in trade restrictions and heavy economic losses for the livestock sector.
Catalonia’s agriculture department said it had established a surveillance area extending up to 50 kilometres around the affected site, with routine inspections scheduled every 48 to 72 hours.
The outbreak was detected on a farm in the Alt Empordà area and has led to exhaustive controls in around 800 surrounding farms to prevent further spread.
Authorities have restricted the movement of animals in the area, ordered vaccination of nearby herds, and begun culling 123 infected cows on the farm, the department said.
This is the first case detected in Spain, following 67 outbreaks in France and 47 in Italy, according to official data.
‘Farms that have to cull animals will receive compensation,’ Catalonia’s regional agriculture minister, Oscar Ordeig, said on Catalan public television.
‘It’s a very complex and serious situation, especially in the areas affected, but it has to be addressed. We all need to do our part to make sure it’s handled correctly and that the disease is kept under control.’
Meanwhile, French authorities announced the creation of a surveillance zone along the border with Spain to help prevent any cross-border spread of the disease.
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🏛️ La Generalitat accelera la vacunació del bestiar pels casos de dermatosi nodular contagiosa.
💸 El Govern aprova una partida de 4 milions d’euros per “compensar” les granges afectades | @RTVECatalunya pic.twitter.com/WexyVNImr4
— RTVE Notícies (@rtvenoticies) October 7, 2025
🔴 El Departament d’Agricultura començarà a vacunar per la dermatosi nodular contagiosa aquest dimecres.
🎙️ Demà a les 12.30 h, el Departament oferirà una roda de premsa a serveis centrals per donar més detalls sobre l’estat de la situació.
Més info: https://t.co/CYxHw208xm pic.twitter.com/UxREYcfr2V
— Agricultura (@agriculturacat) October 6, 2025
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