The Azores are the only Portuguese region which is Officially Free From Enzootic Bovine Leukosis according to the Decision of the Commission no.2010/188 of March 30, 2010.
This situation is the result of the of policies implemented by the governments of Carlos César, with special emphasis on the rigour and competence in the area of Animal Health; for that reason all the islands of the archipelago have been able to achieve this status.
The eradication of this animal disease with major impact on the cattle is mandatory, a goal that the Azores have managed to accomplish.
It is also important to mention that the Azores are officially recognised as a Region Officially Free of Bovine Brucellosis on six islands as they are also the only national territories awarded with this status (Santa Maria, Graciosa, Pico, Faial, Flores and Corvo).This disease has currently registered the lowest incident value ever, 0.2 percent, which corresponds to an effective negative rate of 99.8 percent.
With the eradication of Bovine Leukosis, now officially announced, in addition to the considerable decrease of Brucellosis, the non-existence of Bovine Tuberculosis, the achievement of the BSE Free Region Status at a time when health barriers are increasingly important and constricting with regard to animal trade, genetics selling and animal products trade, this is excellent news for the Azorean animal husbandry as well as for the Azores in general.
With the achievement of this status, of Region Officially Free of Bovine Leukosis, the Autonomous Region of the Azores takes a giant step in order to become one of the European Regions with the highest levels in terms of animal health, thus significantly contributing to the excellence of animal husbandry products as well as to the increase of food safety.