The Drama of Livestock: The DANA Leaves Nearly 3,000 Animals Dead in Valencia

The DANA has been a true catastrophe for Valencia. The floods have left over 200 dead so far, and the damage to the industrial sector and educational infrastructure amounts to 12 billion euros, according to the latest report from the Consell.

Other sectors, such as agriculture, warned of the impending ruin. This ruin has already arrived for the livestock farmers, who have to lament a large number of deaths among their animals, which are being removed by the Department of Agriculture.

So far, Agriculture has removed 2,950 dead animals from the livestock farms in the areas affected by the DANA to prevent public health risks from the proliferation of possible diseases.

Since October 30, the company Tragsa, contracted by the department, and the public company Vaersa have made about 1,000 calls to livestock farms in the regions of L'Horta Sud, La Ribera Alta, La Ribera Baixa, Hoya de Buñol, and Requena-Utiel to assess their status and needs.

The information gathered pointed to 17 pig, sheep, horse, and poultry farms that had dead animals, so Agriculture proceeded to remove the carcasses. Additionally, reports of dead animals on public roads have been addressed.

The president of the Association of Young Farmers of the Valencian Community (AVA-Asaja), Cristóbal Aguado, assures that "the torrential rains destroyed access to many livestock farms and, in the most severe cases, flooded the facilities, ruining the forage, feed, drinking water, and even causing the death of livestock."

Aguado explains that "some members alerted us that if it was not possible to reach the farms and feed and water the animals in a few days, they would not survive, and for that reason, we all got to work to prevent the disaster from being much greater."

From Agriculture, they explain that these measures not only favor Public Health by preventing diseases but also ensure the supply of feed, forage, and water for those farms experiencing access problems, as the removal has allowed the conditioning of the affected roads.

The Generalitat warns that any farmer requiring these services can call 112 or the company Tragsa, by order of the Consell, which will proceed to remove the animals at no cost to the farmer.

The related entity, the Association of Breeders of Purebred Spanish Horses of the Valencian Community (PRECVAL), launched a platform together with the Equestrian Federation of the Valencian Community, the Federation of Drag and Pull of the Valencian Community, and the CEU Cardenal Herrera Veterinary Clinical Hospital, to set up three warehouses (in Carlet, Manises, and Alfara del Patriarca) where all kinds of donations (forage, feed, shavings, or sawdust for horse bedding...) can be stored to be collected or, if no means are available, transported to the affected farms and equestrian centers.

The president of PRECVAL, José Antonio Esteban, states that "from day one, we have been working to help more than a hundred farms, equestrian centers, studs, meat producers, and veterinary registries. We have already received donations from all over Spain: federations and associations such as the Royal National Association of Breeders of Purebred Spanish Horses (ANCCE), as well as from Navarra, Aragon, Catalonia, Murcia, Andalusia... Many animals have died, but we must strive, with work and solidarity, to save many more."