Parda de Montaña livestock farmers appeal the compensation scales.

The Association of Parda de Montaña Cattle Breeders (Araparda) has filed an administrative contentious appeal against Order AGA/490/2026, of 23 March, which establishes the compensation scales for the compulsory slaughter of animals against contagious nodular dermatosis in Aragon. The appeal is processed as Abbreviated Procedure 0000263/2026 before the Administrative Litigation Court of the High Court of Justice of Aragon, according to the notice of appearance published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 155, of 12 August 2026.

The contested regulation was published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 60, of 27 March 2026, and sets the amounts to be received by farm owners whose animals are compulsorily slaughtered as a control measure against contagious nodular dermatosis (DNC). This viral disease of cattle has in 2026 triggered a health response of national scope: the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food formalised on 12 March 2026 the purchase of emergency vaccines against the virus (file 202606SG0008, announced in the BOE of 9 June), and the national budget contingency for 2026 reserves funds for health actions associated with this disease.

An appeal against the Aragon scales

The notice, signed on 27 July 2026 by the Director General for Food Quality and Safety, Enrique Novales Allué, is published in compliance with article 49 of Law 29/1998, of 13 July, regulating the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction, in order to publicise the litigation opened by the Aragonese livestock association. The parties to the proceedings are:

• Appellant: Araparda, association of breeders of the autochthonous Parda de Montaña cattle breed.
• Challenged act: Order AGA/490/2026, of 23 March, on compensation scales for compulsory slaughter against contagious nodular dermatosis.
• Court: Administrative Litigation Court of the High Court of Justice of Aragon, located at Calle Coso 1, Zaragoza.
• Procedure: abbreviated 0000263/2026.

Nine days to appear

The Directorate General for Food Quality and Safety, attached to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Food of the Government of Aragon, summons all interested parties who have not been individually notified to appear and formally become party to the proceedings in defence of their rights and legitimate interests.

• Deadline: nine days, counted from the day following publication of the notice, that is, from 13 August 2026.
• Place: Administrative Litigation Court, Calle Coso 1, Zaragoza.

A native breed at the centre of the conflict

Parda de Montaña is one of the beef cattle breeds raised in Aragon and is among the specialized breeds recognized in the state agricultural insurance scheme, as set out in the resolution published in the BOE on 28 March 2026 (BOE-A-2026-7172). The appeal by its breeders against the Aragonese scales places at the centre of the debate the economic valuation of cattle slaughtered for health reasons in a year marked by the national vaccination campaign against DNC.

The judgment handed down in proceeding 0000263/2026 will determine whether the scales fixed by the Aragonese order comply with the law and, consequently, the amount that livestock farmers whose holdings are affected by future compulsory culls will receive. For the Aragonese cattle sector, highly dependent on native breeds such as Parda de Montaña, the outcome of the litigation will condition both compensation for damage already caused and confidence in the current compensation framework.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 155, of 12 August 2026, section V. Announcements, b) Other announcements (official reference: BOA20260812016).