Livestock farmers in Extremadura whose farms have undergone "sanitary emptying" due to the presence of animal diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, bovine and ovine and caprine brucellosis, bluetongue, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, will be eligible for aid from the Junta de Extremadura of up to 40,000 euros per beneficiary.
The Governing Council has given the green light this Wednesday to a decree that sets the regulatory bases for these subsidies, endowed with 300,000 euros for the fiscal year 2026, with the objective of "supporting the Extremaduran livestock sector affected by diseases that have forced them to sacrifice their animals".
As detailed by the spokesperson for the Junta de Extremadura, Elena Manzano, at the press conference following the Governing Council, these aids will allow farm owners to "repopulate their livestock," whether ovine, bovine, or caprine.
"We thus seek to compensate for the losses of farmers affected by diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, or bluetongue," stated Manzano, who recalled that sanitary emptying is a veterinary control tool that consists of "sacrificing and removing all animals from a livestock farm, regardless of whether they are sick or not, to eradicate an infectious disease and thus prevent its spread."
This action is taken when official veterinary services determine that "the sanitary risk is high and when there are no other solutions that guarantee the control of this outbreak," added the spokesperson, who stressed that with this package of aid, the Junta de Extremadura "reaffirms its commitment to the livestock sector."
In this way, it is "guaranteed that those affected can face the expenses for the purchase or lease of the animals necessary to recover their livestock herd," she indicated.
Requirements and changes introduced in the regulation
Manzano indicated that the approval of this new decree has been used to "introduce improvements aimed at simplification and rationalization, with the control of compliance with the obligations of all beneficiaries."
In particular, aspects of the bases for restocking grants provided for in Royal Decree 82/2015, of February 13, related to the origin of funding and the way to accredit certain requirements, have been modified. Therefore, this regional regulation is now approved, which develops the state regulation to adapt these changes and incorporate advances in the simplification of the required administrative documentation.
Natural or legal persons who own cattle, sheep, and goat farms located in Extremadura, on which the competent authority in animal health of the regional Administration has ordered the mandatory slaughter of all animals due to the confirmation of any of the diseases contemplated, may benefit from these grants.
The grants will cover the purchase or lease with option to purchase of animals intended for restocking the farm, incorporated before or after the date of submission of the application, provided it is within the interval between 3 and 15 months from the departure of the last animal affected by the sanitary culling.
In any case, animals integrated into the flock until October 1 of the year of the call will be taken into account, even if restocking has not been definitively completed, the regional Executive specifies. The maximum aid limit per beneficiary and per sanitary culling will be 40,000 euros, and this amount may be reached in a single call or in several successive ones.