What danger does the ban on the construction of cattle burial grounds pose to Russians?

According to federal agencies, there are 14 thousand potentially dangerous cattle burial grounds in the country. 46% of them are operational, but ownerless and could potentially pose an environmental threat to populated areas. Often, such illegal “cemeteries” are created by unscrupulous farmers who do not want to pay for the transportation and disposal of animal remains.

The draft law provides for the introduction of a ban on the construction of new cattle burial grounds in the Russian Federation. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture will develop veterinary rules for the operation and liquidation of existing cattle burial grounds, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

A complete register of cattle burial grounds will also be formed on the basis of the FSIS "Cerberus" - a component of the "VetIS" system. It will contain information about all animal burials, which, according to government plans, should ensure traceability of biological waste. The Ministry of Agriculture will also approve a list of biological waste obtained from the processing of food and non-food raw materials of animal origin.

As explained in the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, current legislation provides for the possibility of an overly broad interpretation of the concept of “biological waste”. Participants in the circulation of biological waste often have difficulties due to the vagueness of the wording “biological waste”. The new law is intended to bring order to this issue.

“Taking into account that waste disposal is the further use of waste for the production of goods, performance of work, provision of services, including the reuse of waste, including the reuse of waste for its intended purpose, and waste destruction is the direct reduction of waste to a state of impossibility of its further processing and use , the bill proposes to replace the existing concept of “recycling and disposal” with “recycling and destruction,” the explanatory note says.

The National Veterinary Association (NVA) notes that cattle burial grounds today threaten populated areas and the health of citizens, being a source of anthropozoonotic pathogens. The lack of veterinary specialists hinders proper monitoring of the condition of objects, the NVA notes.

According to the chief researcher of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "UralNIIEkology", Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Institution REO (Russian Environmental Operator) Alexander Solovyanov, the figure of 14 thousand is most likely underestimated. Illegal cattle burial grounds arise due to oversight on the part of supervisory authorities, he believes. After all, it is impossible to use state land for any purpose without the knowledge of the authorities, Solovyanov points out. In addition, the specialist notes, there must be control over the movement of animals, especially in large agricultural complexes.

“True, if the owner of one or two animals dies due to an infectious disease, then, of course, it is difficult to trace what the owner did with the dead animal,” says the expert. - After all, they are not only buried, but also dumped into water bodies. In general, we need to solve the problem of detailed accounting.

To avoid contamination of groundwater, he explains, an insulating layer is needed under the cattle burial ground. If this is not done, then it is extremely difficult to intercept dangerous pollution. You can, of course, drill wells around the perimeter, pump out the contaminated water and then disinfect it. But this is a very expensive pleasure, especially if the pollution is long-term.

The specialist believes that special attention should be paid to the problem of neutralizing cattle burial grounds with a long lifespan. The biological material there has already undergone decomposition to varying degrees. It can be removed and burned only if it is clearly dangerous (for example, if anthrax spores are detected). In other cases, it is necessary to develop technologies for chemical and biological neutralization, he believes.

The head of the “Ecoinspection” of the “People's Front” in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Marina Yakubenko, reminds that illegal cattle burial grounds can be located in the water protection zone of rivers, in forests, and even in close proximity to residential buildings.

“Recently, we have discovered eight such illegal cattle burial grounds near Krasnoyarsk alone,” says Marina Yakubenko. — One of the latest cases is in the village of Lopatino. A few hundred meters from residential buildings, the remains of animals were scattered in a spontaneous landfill among household garbage.

Today, the state has created a farm control system called “Mercury”. According to representatives of Rosselkhoznadzor , thanks to this system it is possible to track the entire cycle of production and sale of agricultural and livestock products. But, on the other hand, Popular Front experts are faced with the fact that even after discovering the remains of cattle with the tag of the farmer-owner, it is almost impossible to prove that it was he who organized the spontaneous cattle burial ground. The “owner” of the discovered remains begins to claim that he sold the cows through an advertisement site, and another seller then resold them, without entering the relevant data into the official Rosselkhoznadzor database. It seems to be a human factor, but, according to Marina Yakubenko, it also needs control from departments.

“Today, farmers themselves admit that it is not profitable for them to register in the official system, enter into contracts for waste disposal, and complain about the excessive regulation of their activities,” says the specialist. — According to them, the production is practically waste-free (processing into meat and bone meal, etc.). There is an understandable desire to save money, but in fact, the remains found anywhere have to be liquidated by the owner of the land - most often by local administrations at the expense of the state treasury.

Director of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology Denis Kolbasov believes that one of the reasons that animal owners do not dispose of remains in accordance with current legislation is the lack of necessary infrastructure and the lack of a clear and transparent mechanism for determining the cost of this work. There is often a problem with transport accessibility of recycling points, and the cost of transporting such waste lies with the owner of the animals.

— A possible solution to the problem is the introduction of insurance for this risk, when all disposal costs would be covered by insurance. But this requires a clear mechanism for calculating disposal costs in each specific region,” says Denis Kolbasov. — In order to estimate the costs of carrying out the same vaccination , it is necessary to understand the requirements that will need to be met in order to remove restrictions from the unfavorable area based on the results of reclamation, and also to determine the government authority responsible for making the decision to lift the restrictions. Currently, these issues, alas, are not regulated by law.

One of the saddest examples is considered to be deer mortality areas in the Far North, which were formed historically and there are no real mechanisms for their elimination, the specialist notes. According to him, an effective way to reduce the risk of anthrax infection in animals is preventive vaccination . According to the results of an investigation into the anthrax outbreak in Yamal in 2016, it was the refusal of routine vaccination of deer that led to serious consequences.

“The severity of the problem with cattle burial grounds in the North is now associated with climate change,” says Alexander Solovyanov. — Permafrost soils “thaw” and what was frozen comes out. The problem is also the low population and the large territory of the North, so it is difficult to organize effective control. However, you should try to organize remote monitoring, including using UAVs.

In any case, experts summarize, organizing effective monitoring is necessary, because there are types of pathogenic microorganisms that are dangerous not only for animals, but also for humans. In addition, their mutation is possible due to climate warming and the emergence of new strains due to migration from southern latitudes.