Following a report filed by residents of the village of Zhelyo Voyvoda, veterinarians from the Regional Directorate for Food Safety in Sliven and the Ministry of Interior authorities identified animals of unknown origin. They were being hidden by their owners, as they originated from the village of Zhelyo Voyvoda, Sliven district, with a declared primary outbreak of smallpox in small ruminants.
Following the report, on December 9, the Regional Directorate for Food Safety - Sliven requested assistance from the authorities of the Regional Directorate for Food Safety - Sliven to establish the location of the hidden animals and their owners. The next day, employees of the Regional Directorate for Food Safety - Sliven provided information with the address of I. K. in the village of Zhelyo Voyvoda, where one of the herds is located, and Y. K. had already moved his herd towards the land of the village. Kabile, Yambol Municipality.
On December 11, together with teams from the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Sliven, inspectors from the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Sliven visited the site of I. K., which is registered. The owner provided full cooperation, and a clinical examination of the animals was performed. During the examination, visible signs of small ruminant pox were found and a seizure order was imposed. Blood samples were immediately taken from the animals to confirm or reject the suspicions. The tested samples were positive, and an order was issued on their basis to take the necessary measures and actions.
On December 12, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a team from the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Yambol established the location of the person Y. K., who illegally moved 84 sheep from the village of Zhelyo Voyvoda to the land of the village of Kabile, Yambol Region. They are unidentified, without the measures taken under the “National Program for Prevention, Surveillance, Control and Eradication of Animal Diseases, Including Zoonoses in the Republic of Bulgaria“, which constitutes a violation of the Veterinary Medical Activity Act. Y. K. refuses to cooperate with the control authorities and does not sign the order of the Director of the RFSD - Yambol.
The Director of the RFSD issues an order for seizure in favor of the state and immediate killing on site in order to prevent the spread of the disease, as the animals pose a high epizootic risk due to the fact that they were moved from a primary and secondary outbreak of sheep pox.
According to Order RD 11-3012/27.11.2024 The directors of the RFSD - Yambol and Sliven have been ordered to carry out inspections for illegal trade and movement of small ruminants in the territory of the respective districts. If such violations are found, acts of establishing an administrative violation are drawn up for the owners of the animals, the animals are killed immediately, and the carcasses are destroyed in compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) 1069/2009.
The movement of animals from established outbreaks of category A diseases, such as sheep and goat pox, is absolutely and categorically prohibited by European legislation (Delegated Regulation 2020/687), which also provides for the killing of sick and contact animals originating from protection zones around established outbreaks. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) reminds that violations of veterinary requirements affect not only animal health, but also epizootic security in the country.
We call on all livestock breeders to strictly comply with the imposed control and prevention measures. Reports to the Agency can be submitted by phone at 0 700 122 99 or via the online platform on the BFSA website.