Austrian authorities baffled: Hungary failed to inform them about buried FMD-infected cattle near the border
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Pereszteg is just 6 kilometres from the Austrian-Hungarian border, and the Hungarian authorities did not inform their Austrian colleagues that they would bury culled cattle in a former sand mine close to the border. Now, the Austrian authorities are conducting permanent inspections concerning the potentially infected groundwater. Meanwhile, the Hungarian authorities assured them that the flow direction vectors pointed to Hungary instead of Austria.
Hungarian authorities failed to inform Austria about infected cattle buried
According to mfor.hu, the Hungarian authorities forgot to inform their Austrian colleagues that they would bury FMD-infected cattle in a former sand mine close to the border, near the village of Pereszteg. What’s more, the local mayor was also informed only after the carcasses were already in the ground. Based on a report of the Austrian Vol.at, the Burgenland State Office said there was no direct threat to the groundwater in Austria.
Even the Austrian military was mobilised in the last few days to prevent the infectious disease from entering the country. We wrote about that decision in THIS article.
Keeping Austria FMD-free is a top priority of the local authorities, so the state office conducts regular groundwater inspections. The Social Democrat Heinrich Dorner, a local councillor, said they would like to use all opportunities to keep the situation under control, conduct permanent inspections, and employ cross-border cooperation. Moreover, he criticised the Hungarian authorities’ information-sharing practice.
Professional discussions, permanent evaluation of the situation
The Hungarian colleagues told them that they buried the carcasses in a former sand mine where the soil is clayey, while its structure is dense. Furthermore, they pointed out that the flow direction of the groundwater is Northwest-Southeast. Thus, no water will get through Austria from there. In the next few days, the two parties will conduct professional discussions since Pereszteg is only 6 kilometres from the border.
