Castilla y León health and agriculture authorities have established an expanded restricted zone across five provinces following 27 confirmed outbreaks of Newcastle disease in poultry farms, according to the Junta de Castilla y León and the Ministry of Agriculture. The disease, which affects birds and triggers mandatory flock culling, has forced the sanitary depopulation of nearly 30 farms and the death of more than 1,7 million chickens and broilers since the first case appeared in Aldea de San Miguel, Valladolid.
The new regulations, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (Bocyl), create an Additional Restricted Zone covering entire veterinary units with outbreaks and neighboring districts. According to the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural and Environmental Policy, the measures aim to prevent further pathogen spread amid high poultry density and frequent movement of vehicles and technical services. The expansion affects thirteen veterinary areas across Valladolid, Segovia, Salamanca, Ávila, and Zamora.
Vaccination Mandates and Supply Demands
To combat the spread, regional authorities have made poultry vaccination mandatory, starting in August in Valladolid and Segovia before expanding across the entire region in September. Regional Agriculture Minister Joaquín Antonio Pino met with vaccine manufacturing laboratories operating in Castilla y León to review available stock and future production capacity. According to regional agriculture officials, the sector requires approximately unos 215 million doses annually, a demand manufacturers plan to meet by accelerating production schedules and prioritizing deliveries to affected zones.
Movement restrictions within the quarantined zones are strictly enforced under the new resolution. Live poultry transport from these areas is prohibited except for direct transit to the nearest available slaughterhouse, requiring prior veterinary inspection, clinical evaluation, and strict disinfection protocols. Furthermore, authorities have temporarily suspended direct sales and short-circuit commercialization of poultry products within restricted zones to limit epidemiological contact and protect traceability.
Comparison with Avian Influenza Impact
The current Newcastle disease outbreak strikes the region’s poultry sector as it attempts to recover from a previous avian influenza wave. That prior crisis forced the culling of approximately two million birds out of a total regional census of roughly eight million animals. While European Union regulations classify Newcastle disease as a mandatory notification pathogen requiring total flock depopulation, health officials confirm it is a minor zoonosis that does not transmit to humans through the consumption of meat or eggs.
Veterinary services continue clinical inspections and biosecurity audits across all commercial facilities, prohibiting the repopulation of backyard or commercial flocks until regional sanitary restrictions are officially lifted.