Poland resumes border checks on animal transports after FMD outbreaks

Poland has resumed checks on animal transports at the German border in response to the recent foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Central Europe. The decision was taken after a crisis management meeting in Szczecin. Border guards will inspect vehicles transporting cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and certain animal by-products like feed and hay. Moreover, a large epizootic warehouse has been opened in Przeworsk that will support the fight against FMD and other animal diseases. The facility’s creation was confirmed by Teresa Kubas-Hul, the Governor of the Podkarpackie region.
Explaining the return of border checks on social media, the Polish Ministry of Agriculture remarked that FMD is “a contagious and highly infectious disease that spreads easily over long distances”, with cloven-hoofed animals like cattle and pigs as “the most vulnerable to infection.” The last recorded case in Poland was in 1971.