Bovine dermatitis, Sardinian farmers: "The total lockdown has been lifted, outbreaks are only in the south, but we're all held hostage by the virus."

The new vaccination campaign against bovine dermatitis will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, May 6th. But the farmers' main concern is the total ban on movement, in force even outside the 50km surveillance zone . The outbreaks are only in the south, and it's not possible that all the island's farmers are "hostages" to dermatitis , this is the point reiterated by the associations at the roundtable meeting convened this morning in Cagliari by the regional councilor for agriculture, Francesco Agus .

"We've done everything we had to do. In six months, we've vaccinated 99% of the farms and 97% of the animals. So now we demand that the health authorities immediately allow movement outside the surveillance zone," said Luca Saba, director of Coldiretti Sardinia, speaking of "over 5,000 calves ready to leave for the mainland," and reiterating that farmers "don't want to and can't wait another day."

Stefano Taras, president of Confagricoltura , emphasized that to date "there are no indications of particular risks beyond the cases already reported." Therefore, the hope is to be able to "resume movement of livestock, also because the signs are already clear: there is an oversupply within the island that is leading to a contraction in prices ."

Copagri President Giuseppe Patteri also insisted: "A total halt to movement now makes no sense. Cases have been reported in the south. It's important for other farms to be able to move their livestock ."

The green light, however, lies with the Ministry of Health : "As a Region," Councilor Agus explained to the microphones, "we demand to be treated on a par with the others. It's unreasonable to subject our manufacturing sector to lockdowns different from those applied in the rest of Italy."

Regarding vaccinations, 300,000 doses are available : "We are confident we can cover the entire cattle population very quickly," Agus emphasized, also announcing measures to contain the spread of the virus that will be included in an "imminent" ordinance from the Department of the Environment. He explained that " the Provinces will play an active role in measures to combat the spread of the insect vector, which will involve the possibility of extending activities not only to public areas but also to private land ."

(Unioneonline/L)