Radio România Internațional

Tag: slaughtering

  • African swine fever grabs the authorities’ attention

    African swine fever grabs the authorities’ attention

    With some 800 outbreaks of African swine fever confirmed in one-quarter of its counties, Romania struggles to stop the spreading of the worst animal disease epidemic since WW2. The toughest measure is to kill all the pigs in the areas where the virus has been confirmed. The process is under way, among other places, at a farm in Braila County in the south-east, which is the largest in Romania and the second-largest in Europe. Roadblocks are also in place, to stop people from taking the animals or animal products out of the affected areas, and a decision was made to allow the hunting of wild pigs and jackals in the Danube Delta, which also carry the virus.



    But in spite of these measures, the disease is spreading quickly, because there is no treatment or vaccine, says the president of the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, Geronimo Raducu Branescu. He explained that the African swine fever is a disease with morbidity and mortality rates of up to 100%. It is currently active in the Baltic States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, the Republic of Moldova and Italy, and some countries have managed to contain it after decades of efforts and at huge costs, Geronimo Raducu Branescu also said. In Spain, for instance, it took 30 years and enormous expenditure to control it.



    In Romania, over 100,000 pigs have been slaughtered so far, and the losses are substantial. President Klaus Iohannis, who requested that compensations be paid as quickly as possible to those affected, argued that the inadequate handling of the situation by the authorities brought many local producers to the verge of bankruptcy.



    Bucharest has requested financial support from the European Commission in order to counter the effects of the African swine fever, and the Agriculture Minister Petre Daea promised compensations to the owners of the animals that had to be killed. The long-term consequences of the outbreak are devastating for small farms, major meat processors and the entire Romanian agri-food industry: unemployment, panic, distrust in meat processing units, deeper trade deficits, and expenses for compensations and for farm restocking.



    The crisis hits not only the private sector, but also the Romanian state, which has invested massively over the past 10 years in order to increase competitiveness and to be able to export pork to the EU market, after 14 years when exports from Romania had been banned.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 27, 2018

    August 27, 2018

    DIPLOMACY – The annual meeting of Romanian diplomats begins today in the capital city Bucharest, under the motto “Diplomacy – A Pillar of Centennial Romania. The annual meeting of Romanian diplomats is a broad platform for the discussion of topics of major interest to Romania, such as the rotating presidency of the EU Council, to be taken over by Romania early next year, bilateral as well as strategic relations. The national priorities on the agenda of the meeting also include regional cooperation, the eastern neighbourhood and economic diplomacy. Attending the event are the Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu, the Minister delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu, heads of Romanian embassies and consular offices abroad, and Romanian and foreign guests. A special guest in this years meeting is the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who will join his Romanian counterpart in a special session entitled “Bucharest – Berlin – Brussels, together for a strong Europe.




    SWINE FEVER – Scheduled to begin on Monday, the slaughtering of around 140,000 animals at Romanias largest pig farm, in Braila County in the south-east, where the African swine fever virus has been confirmed, was postponed at the request of the owners. They requested the setup of a special assessment committee, given the extensive damages to be incurred. A swine fever hotbed has been recently confirmed in another farm in Braila County, which was breeding some 35,000 pigs, and where the slaughtering process has already been initiated. One-quarter of Romanias counties are affected by the African swine fever epidemics, with over 700 hotbeds identified by the authorities in the south-east and north-west of the country. The Pro Agro National Federation has requested the Government to have the situation discussed in the Supreme Defence Council.




    POLITICS – The Romanian parliamentary parties have scheduled meetings to outline their strategies ahead of the autumn parliamentary sitting. Liviu Dragnea, the president of the main ruling party in Romania, the Social Democratic Party, announced that next weekend the partys National Executive Committee and parliamentary groups will convene in the Black Sea resort of Neptun, in order to set out the partys priorities. The meeting will also tackle the activity of the Dancila Cabinet ministers. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the Social Democrats ruling coalition partners, will also have a meeting of its Executive Political Bureau early next week, to discuss the partys priorities and the selection criteria for the ensuing elections for the European Parliament. The main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, will also plan its moves for the autumn parliamentary session. The Liberals have tried and failed to have a special session convened this summer, in order to set up an investigation committee focusing on the violent clashes during the August 10 anti-government protest of Romanian expats. The Liberals also seek to have the Interior Minister Carmen Dan removed from office by Parliament.




    FESTIVAL – The Golden Stag music festival celebrates 50 years of existence in 2018. After a 9-year break, the international pop music competition held in Brasov, central Romania, will be resumed on Wednesday with a special gala devoted to the Union Centennial. Romanian and international artists will hold concerts, including James Blunt, Amy Macdonald, Andra, Delia, Loredana, Carlas Dreams and Horia Brenciu. The Festival, to be held between August 29 and September 2, will bring together 18 competitors from 15 countries. During the same period, book lovers are invited to the Gaudeamus Caravan, an event organised by Radio Romania.




    MOLDOVA – The Republic of Moldova citizens and expats took part on Sunday in a protest organised by ACUM Resistence Movement, created after the elections for the Chisinau city hall, won by the pro-Europeans, were cancelled. The participants criticised the corruption of the current ruling class, the invalidation of the elections in Chisinau and the new mixed election system. The protest took place ahead of todays celebration of 27 years since the small ex-Soviet state proclaimed its independence from Moscow.




    TENNIS – Three of the 6 Romanian players taking part in the US Open are playing their first matches today. Number 1 in the world Simona Halep is facing Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), Irina Begu takes on the American Jennifer Brady, and Ana Bogdan plays against the Czech Marie Bouzkova. The other Romanians are Mihaela Buzărnescu, who is to play against the Czech Marketa Vondrousova, Sorana Cîrstea, scheduled to play against the American Alison Riske, and Monica Niculescu, who will take on the Israeli player Julia Glushko. The only Romanian in the mens competition is Marius Copil, who takes on the Croatian Marin Cilic, number 7 in the world.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)