The Government of Cantabria, through the Ministry of Rural Development, Livestock, Fishing, and Food, has decided to advance in the de-escalation of the prevention measures against contagious nodular dermatosis (CND) and authorize the holding of fairs, contests, exhibitions, and other gatherings with the presence of bovine livestock starting from November 1, as long as in October the health situation continues to be favorable and no new outbreaks appear.
However, until December 31, the rest of the already approved restrictions will remain in effect, including the prohibition of entry into the National Livestock Market of Torrelavega of cattle over one year old from other autonomous communities, as well as the obligation to maintain a quarantine period of 28 days for animals arriving from outside Cantabria.
The new resolution that will detail these conditions will be published in the last days of October and will come into effect on November 1.
This was communicated by the minister of the area, María Jesús Susinos, this Friday at a press conference, accompanied by the general director of Livestock, Alfredo Álvarez. In her speech, she reviewed the evolution of the disease in Spain and the actions promoted by Cantabria since the first outbreaks were detected in October 2025.
Susinos indicated that the decision is based on the fact that the health alert for this pathology is in its final phase, due to the absence of positives in Spain since March 3 and the decrease in the presence of the vector insect responsible for the transmission of the disease.
In addition, the conclusion of the vaccination process in the perivaccinal areas and the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing, and Food has set December 31 as the start of the eight-month period necessary to regain the status of territory officially free of contagious nodular dermatosis, along with the guarantee of "being able to count on sufficient vaccines" if any case is detected in Cantabria.
At the same time, the Spanish and French health authorities have begun the closing phase of the extraordinary vaccination programs developed in the affected areas.
In this context, the minister recalled that, since the appearance of the disease, 20 outbreaks have been recorded in Spain —18 in Catalonia and two in Aragon— and more than 1.1 million heads of cattle have been vaccinated, with coverage close to 95% in both autonomous communities.
Likewise, he has detailed that Navarra and the Basque Country have already completed their preventive vaccination campaigns, while Catalonia and Aragon will conclude them on the next December 31.
Shielding of Cantabria from the beginning
During his appearance, Susinos defended the strategy applied by the regional government since the first outbreaks were reported in the country.
He emphasized that Cantabria was the first community to impose restrictions on the movement of livestock, including the temporary suspension of the activity of the National Livestock Market of Torrelavega, a measure that, as he has reiterated, "served as an example for the rest of the communities, which later joined our measures, understanding that this disease needed a national plan and not an individual one."
Once the incubation period of the disease was overcome and its transmission routes were known with greater precision, the regional government has been progressively relaxing the limitations, trying to balance the health protection of the cattle herd with the maintenance of the economic activity of the sector.
Among the actions implemented are the partial resumption of the operation of the National Livestock Market for the sale of calves, the imposition of mandatory quarantines of 28 days on animals coming from other communities, the reinforcement of veterinary controls, and the requirement to apply disinfection and insecticide measures.
"These biosecurity measures have to remain forever in the day-to-day of our farmers, transporters, and all those related to our primary sector, because here we are talking about animal health and biosecurity," he pointed out.
The counselor has emphasized that the lifting of restrictions will continue to be "gradual and prudent." He insisted that the recovery of cattle fairs responds to "exclusively" technical and health criteria.
He also highlighted the involvement of the livestock sector in the implementation of biosecurity measures, which "has managed to keep the disease away from our community until today."
Finally, Susinos has framed these advances within the health strategy designed by the Government of Cantabria to respond to the various emerging diseases of recent years.
In this line, he mentioned the absence of cases of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in the last year and a half, the decrease in blue tongue episodes thanks to vaccination, and the work done to prevent avian influenza and swine fever.
It is, he indicated, a strategy based on prevention, prophylaxis, biosecurity, and the control of animal movements.
For this reason, he reiterated that the priority will continue to be "to protect farmers and preserve the excellent health status of the Cantabrian livestock." In his view, "we are facing a new era in which our work must be mainly directed towards the protection of our farmers."