Castilla y León relaxes restrictions due to Newcastle disease outbreaks

The General Directorate of Agricultural and Livestock Production of the Junta de Castilla y León has modified the delimitation of the additional restriction zone (ZRA) for Newcastle disease (ND) after the epidemiological situation of certain outbreaks evolved favorably. The decision is detailed in the Resolution of September 14, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL) No. 182, of September 18, 2026, pages 241 to 245, with official reference BOCYL-D-18092026-182-36. The municipalities affected by these outbreaks are no longer subject to the specific regime of protection zones (ZP) and surveillance zones (ZV) and are now integrated exclusively into the ZRA.

The regulation modifies the Resolution of July 31, 2026, from the same General Directorate, which established a plan for the control and intensified surveillance of ND in an additional restriction zone with special control, surveillance, and prevention measures. The text is based on the Commission’s Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, in its consolidated version in force as of May 12, 2026, and Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 9, 2016, on animal health. The authority to issue the resolution comes from the third final provision of Order AGR/36/2024, of January 15.

What changes and who is affected

The municipalities linked to the outbreaks included in the resolution, as well as the rest of the localities integrated into their associated ZP and ZV, leave the specific regime of those zones and remain subject only to the measures provided for the ZRA. These include control, prevention, biosecurity, epidemiological surveillance, and movement control measures, which will be maintained until the epidemiological situation allows for the lifting of the measures inherent to that status.

The resolution specifies that holdings in municipalities linked to declared outbreaks that do not appear in the text will continue with the measures specific to the Restriction Zone (ZP and ZV).

The outbreaks leaving the reinforced regime

The outbreaks whose favorable evolution motivates the modification are the following:

• Cogeces del Monte (Valladolid): outbreak 2026/15, declared on July 1, 2026, and outbreak 2026/17, declared on July 3, 2026.
• Villamarciel (Valladolid): outbreak 2026/21, declared on July 9, 2026.
• Peleagonzalo (Zamora): outbreak 2026/23, declared on July 13, 2026.
• San Vicente del Palacio (Valladolid): outbreak 2026/14, declared on July 1, 2026, and outbreak 2026/27, declared on July 17, 2026.
• Narros del Castillo (Ávila): outbreak 2026/28, declared on July 21, 2026.
• Rágama (Salamanca): outbreak 2026/29, declared on July 21, 2026.
• Paradinas de San Juan (Salamanca): outbreak 2026/32, declared on July 31, 2026.

Verified Requirements and Sanitary Control

Prior to signing, the Animal Health Service of the General Directorate, as the competent authority on the matter in the autonomous community, verified compliance with the conditions required to lift the sanitary measures. Specifically, the following were verified:

• The completion of the minimum maintenance period for the measures in the SV, set at 30 days for the NP from the end of the preliminary cleaning and disinfection, in accordance with Article 55 and Annex XI of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687.
• Compliance with the requirements of Article 39.1.b) for the removal of measures in the PZ, with biosecurity surveys and verification of the absence of clinical signs in the birds.
• The taking of samples under the supervision of the Official Veterinary Services (OVS) in cases of suspicion, with favorable results in all instances and no evidence of the presence or active circulation of the virus.
• Official surveillance of all poultry farms, excluding those for self-consumption, with visits, documentary checks, and assessment of production parameters.
• The execution of the preliminary and final cleaning and disinfection operations provided for in Article 15 and Annex IV of the aforementioned regulation, under the supervision of the OVS and Authorized Veterinarians.

The text emphasizes that the exceptionality of Article 55, which would allow the removal of measures from the SV despite significant delays in final cleaning and disinfection, has not been applied to these outbreaks.

Validity, Appeals, and Veterinary Units

The resolution enters into force on the day of its signing, September 14, 2026, and bears the signature of the Director General of Agricultural and Livestock Production, Juan José García García. Against it, which does not exhaust the administrative route, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the head of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Environment, and Environmental Policy within one month of its signing.

The annex maintains the Veterinary Units included in the RZV:

• Ávila: Arévalo and San Pedro del Arroyo.
• Segovia: Cantalejo, Carbonero el Mayor, Cuéllar, and Santa María la Real de Nieva.
• Salamanca: Peñaranda de Bracamonte.
• Valladolid: Medina del Campo, Olmedo, Peñafiel, Tordesillas, and Valladolid.
• Zamora: Toro.

The measure relieves the administrative and sanitary burden on poultry farms in seven municipalities of Ávila, Salamanca, Valladolid, and Zamora, but does not signify the end of the outbreak: as other active outbreaks persist in Castilla y León, these territories remain under reinforced surveillance within the RZV, with mandatory movement control and biosecurity until the official extinction of the remaining outbreaks.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 182, of September 18, 2026, section I.D Other provisions, pp. 241-245 (official reference: BOCYL-D-18092026-182-36).