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“As of February 11, the protection zone established in a 3-kilometer radius around the site of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak (a backyard farm with water buffalo near Hönow) is lifted and converted into a surveillance zone,” explained state veterinarian Stephan Nickisch. For farms in the former protection zone, this means a relaxation of the control regime. However, the state veterinarian emphasized that transporting cloven-hoofed animals from or to the now surveillance zone is still prohibited.
Nickisch, who is also director of the state crisis center, justifies the partial lifting of the restrictions with the deadlines laid down in EU legislation: “The basis for the start of these deadlines is the day on which the official veterinarian approves the preliminary cleaning and disinfection on the affected farm; which in this particular case was January 25, 2025. On this basis, the protection zone can be lifted after at least 15 days and converted into a surveillance zone. This is an important first step towards lifting the restrictions in the affected districts. The entire surveillance zone can finally be lifted 30 days after official acceptance of preliminary cleaning and disinfection,” the state veterinarian explained. As a result, the surveillance zone could be lifted on February 25 at the earliest.
However, to comply with international guidelines for FMD-free status, certain official measures and investigations into the outbreak must continue in a reduced form until April 11, Nickisch announced.
With the establishment of this reduced restriction zone according to international standards, all areas outside this zone, i.e. the other 14 federal states, but also the remaining areas of Berlin and Brandenburg, regain their FMD-free status, so that trade outside this reduced zone is no longer subject to restrictions.
Ultimately, it is not the state of Brandenburg, nor the federal government, nor the EU that decides whether Germany regains its international “FMD-free” status, but the international animal health organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
February 11, 2025/ MLUK/ Germany.
https://mluk.brandenburg.de/
