Spain's Wild Boar Crisis: Pork Industry on Edge

0:00It's April 5th. I'm Corey with The Story, and this is Global News Today, World News powered by AI. Spain just got hit with its first African swine fever outbreak in decades, starting with a wild boar found dead near Barcelona, back in late November. The virus kills pigs fast, but doesn't harm humans, and so far it stayed in wild animals, not reaching any farms. Officials lied down the park where it started, and kicked off a big culling effort to stop the spread. These in Catalonia are going hard on the roughly 120,000 to 180,000 wild boars roaming the region, aiming to cut that number in half. They've called 24,000 already this year, focusing on high-risk zones within a 6-kilometer radius of the first cases using traps, silenced guns, drones, and fences. Every carcass gets tested with 232 positive so far. Farmers are feeling the heat even without infections on their land, as export bands kicked in right away from countries like Brazil, Japan, the U.S., and others.

1:03Spain's pork industry, Europe's largest at 25 billion euros, has already lost over 600 million euros, with Catalonia exports down, 17% in January alone. Prices are dropping too, hitting producers hard. Port Pro's worry it'll drag on like in Germany, where production fell, 25% in farms shut down, but officials point to Belgium, which... might did out in 14 months. Consumers at local markets aren't phased, saying stricter checks make them feel safer, and sales hold steady despite other economic woes. With extreme biosecurity in play and all resources on deck, Spain's fighting to protect its massive pork sector before losses pile up more time will. Tell if they contain it quick and get exports flowing again.