Romanian President criticizes government for mismanaging Swine fever epidemic
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis criticized the country’s Government on Wednesday for the way it handled the African swine fever epidemic, caling for urgent measures to stop further outbreaks from appearing throughout the country.
Iohannis pointed out that the virus ravaged the swine farming sector in southeastern Romania, where multiple big swine farms and pork meat retailers had to close due to huge losses.
“The damages are already in the tens of millions of euro, thousands of jobs were lost, as well as important commercial opportunities for Romania. We are talking here of major consequences for the national economy, as the African swine fever virus is endangering all commercial swine farms , which make approximately half of the total pork meat destined for internal consumption,” the president said in a statement.
The Romanian head of state criticized the Government for not informing farmers and the population about the risk of an epidemic in a timely manner, despite prior warnings in this regard from European institutions.
Iohannis also slammed the executive for not following the 2016 government decree which listed the necessary measure for fighting and preventing a swine fever epidemic.
“Despite warnings from the European Commission, not all of the measures stipulated in the contingency plan were taken after the virus was confirmed in the Danube Delta (…) Those who handled this crisis in a defective manner must take liability for the current state of affairs,” concludes the presidential statement.
The current African swine fever epidemic has ravaged Romania’s swine farming sector, with more than 700 outbreaks throughout 10 counties confirmed. Authorities estimate that more than 300,000 pigs will be euthanized in efforts to contain the epidemic, which has also affected country’s largest swine farm, in Braila county.
Source: ZFEnglish.com
