Galicia extends precautionary measures for nodular dermatosis until December

The Regional Ministry of Rural Affairs extends the precautionary measures against lumpy skin disease, which will thus remain in place for Galician cattle until December 31, 2026. The decision takes the form of a Resolution of October 27, 2026, from the General Directorate of Livestock, Agriculture, and Agri-food Industries, published in the Official Gazette of Galicia (DOG) no. 207, on Thursday, October 29, 2026, and takes effect from November 1.

Lumpy skin disease is, according to the official text itself, “a viral disease of high diffusibility” that entails “significant losses both for the affected farms and for the bovine sector in general.” The trigger for the alert was the appearance of the disease in European Union countries close to Spain, both territorially and commercially, and its detection in Spanish territory last October in Catalonia, in the province of Girona, and subsequently in Aragon. This represented, the resolution states, “a significant increase in the risk level of the appearance of this disease in Galicia.”

Despite the “favorable evolution” of the epidemiological situation in Catalonia and Aragon, the measures adopted by those communities, and the vaccination plan established in certain areas of Spain, the General Directorate considers it advisable to maintain the restrictions “following the analysis of the currently existing sanitary risk.”

Four chained extensions since March

The measure is not new: it links to a sequence of successive extensions that began with the original resolution last winter.

• Resolution of March 25, 2026, published in DOG no. 59, on March 30, which established the initial precautionary measures.
• Resolution of July 27, 2026, published in DOG no. 142, on July 30.
• Resolution of August 25, 2026, published in DOG no. 163, on August 28, effective from September 1 to 30.
• Resolution of September 23, 2026, published in DOG no. 185, on September 29, effective from October 1 to 31.
• Resolution of October 27, 2026, published in DOG no. 207, on October 29, covering November 1 to December 31.

Validity until the end of the year and possible extension

The second point of the resolution sets a validity period from November 1 to December 31, 2026, both dates inclusive. The regulation adds that the term “may be extended by resolution in accordance with the epidemiological evolution of the disease,” meaning the final duration of the restrictions depends on the behavior of the disease in the coming months.

Legal basis and appeal process

The resolution bases its competence on three regulations:

• Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 9 March 2016, on animal health.
• Article 8 on sanitary safeguard measures of Law 8/2003, of 24 April, on animal health.
• Article 19 of Decree 223/2022, of 22 December, which establishes the organic structure of the Ministry of Rural Affairs.

The text is signed by the director general Silvestre José Balseiros Guinarte in Santiago de Compostela on 27 October 2026. This resolution does not exhaust administrative remedies: an appeal for reversal may be filed before the Minister of Rural Affairs, María José Gómez Rodríguez, within a period of one month from the day following its publication in the DOG, in accordance with articles 121 and 122 of Law 39/2015.

The extension directly affects cattle farms in Galicia, a key sector for the community’s dairy and meat production, which thus continues to operate under precautionary restrictions until the sanitary situation in the rest of Spain stabilizes.

Source: Official Gazette of Galicia, no. 207, 29 October 2026, section III, pp. 54211-54212 (official reference: CVE-DOG: pz6ysff5-dfs8-vzg8-zbp8-vuipffkabwr2).