Austria Closes 24 Border Crossings Due to Foot-and-Mouth Disease

The checkpoints were determined in coordination with the authorities in the affected federal states of Lower Austria and Burgenland, the interest groups, and the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of the Interior announced on Thursday. The Burgenland Chamber of Agriculture welcomed the measures, while criticism came from the FPÖ.

Foot-and-mouth disease affects border crossings

Specifically affected in Lower Austria, according to the draft regulation, are the crossings Angern-March/Zahorska Ves and Schloss Hof/Devinska Nová Ves, as well as the pedestrian and cyclist bridge Marchegg in the district of Gänserndorf according to the regulation of the state police director. In Burgenland, the following crossings will be closed: Andau/Jánossomorja, Andau/Kapuvar (access to the bridge from Andau), Baumgarten/Sopron, Deutsch Jahrndorf/Rajka, Deutschkreutz/Harka, Deutschkreutz/Nagycenk, Halbturn/Várbalog, Halbturn/Várbalog (Albertkazmerpuszta), Klostermarienberg/Olmod, Loipersbach - Ágfalva, Lutzmannsburg/Zsira, Lutzmannsburg (Rebberg) - Zsira, Lutzmannsburg (Therme) - Zsira, Neckenmarkt - Harka, Nickelsdorf - Rajka, Nikitsch - Sopronkövesd, Nikitsch/Zsira, Ritzing (Helenenschacht), Sopron (Brennbergbánya), Schattendorf/Ágfalva, Sieggraben (Herrentisch)/Sopron (Görbehalomtelep), Wallern/Kapuvár (access to the bridge from Wallern). The Ministry of the Interior clarified to the APA in connection with the border at Nickelsdorf that the large border crossing there towards Hegyeshalom will remain open.

The state police directorates are responsible for securing and controlling the border crossings. "Closed border crossings, as opposed to border controls at open crossings, represent a less personnel-intensive measure and are carried out with varying strength and intensity," the ministry stated. The closure can be carried out depending on the crossing with the help of technical barriers or by officers, it was said. The closure of the small border crossings will remain in effect until the end of May 20th.

Since the end of last week, the police have been supporting the health authorities as part of the existing controls at the Slovak and Hungarian borders. The measures include stopping vehicles, checking documents, and inspecting vehicles.

Call for "rigorous border controls" of live animal transports

The Burgenland Chamber of Agriculture welcomed the measures on Thursday. Furthermore, President Nikolaus Berlakovich called on the responsible authorities at the federal and state levels to "quickly" make further preparations.

The Burgenland FPÖ farmers' chairman and Federal Council member Thomas Karacsony had previously spoken out against border closures to the APA: "This leads to panic and paralyzes the entire economy as it did during the Corona times." Instead, he called for disease mats at border crossings and "rigorous border controls" of live animal transports.

A monitoring program has already started in Burgenland. According to Deputy Governor Anja Haider-Wallner (Green Party), all 660 farms in Northern and Central Burgenland will be inspected in the coming weeks, and animals will be examined for clinical symptoms. Twelve farms in Deutsch Jahrndorf, Nickelsdorf, Halbturn, and Mönchhof will be sampled weekly.

The four municipalities in the Neusiedl am See district, where samples are taken weekly, form a monitoring zone due to their proximity to the Hungarian outbreak site Levél. A hunting ban is also in effect there. Recently, all tests in the zone came back negative.

In a total of around 150 farms, samples are additionally taken monthly. The program is initially running until May 17.

Figures for Burgenland

In Burgenland, there are a total of around 1,338 farms with animals, including 316 cattle farms, 267 pig farmers, 410 sheep farmers, 221 goat farmers, about 76 game farms - for example with fallow deer - and 48 alpaca farms, which would be affected in the event of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

(APA/Red)

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