(1)

African swine fever is an infectious viral disease affecting kept and wild porcine animals and can have a severe impact on the concerned animal population and the profitability of farming causing disturbance to movements of consignments of those animals and products thereof within the Union and exports to third countries.

(2)

In the event of outbreaks of African swine fever in kept porcine animals, there is a serious risk of the spread of that disease to other establishments of kept porcine animals.

(3)

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 (2) supplements the rules for the control of the listed diseases referred to in Article 9(1)(a), (b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, and defined as category A, B and C diseases in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 (3). In particular, Articles 21 and 22 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 provide for the establishment of a restricted zone in the event of an outbreak of a category A disease, including African swine fever, and for certain measures to be applied therein. In addition, Article 21(1) of that Delegated Regulation provides that the restricted zone is to comprise a protection zone, a surveillance zone, and if necessary further restricted zones around or adjacent to the protection and surveillance zones.

(4)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594 (4) lays down special disease control measures regarding African swine fever. In particular, Article 3, point (a), of that Implementing Regulation provides for the establishment of a restricted zone in the case of an outbreak of African swine fever in kept porcine animals, in accordance with Article 21(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687.

(5)

Croatia has informed the Commission of the current African swine fever situation on its territory, following the confirmation of one outbreak of that disease in kept porcine animals in the Vukovarsko-Srijemska county on 26 June 2023 and, in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594, it has established a restricted zone, which comprises protection and surveillance zones, where the general disease control measures laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 are applied, in order to prevent the further spread of that disease.

(6)

In order to prevent any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union and to avoid unjustified barriers to trade by third countries, it is necessary to identify at Union level the restricted zone, which comprises protection and surveillance zones for African swine fever in Croatia in collaboration with that Member State.

(7)

Given the urgency of the epidemiological situation in the Union as regards the spread of African swine fever, it is important that the measures laid down in this Implementing Decision apply as soon as possible.

(8)

Accordingly, pending the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, the infected zone in Croatia should be established immediately and listed in the Annex to this Decision and the duration of that zoning fixed.

(9)

This Decision is to be reviewed at the next meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(a)

a restricted zone which comprises a protection zone and a surveillance zone is established immediately by Croatia in accordance with Article 21(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 and under conditions set out in that Article;

(b)

the protection and surveillance zones referred to in paragraph (a) comprise at least the areas listed in the Annex to this Implementing Decision.