Sardinia’s sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms

Sardinia’s sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
Some 20,000 sheep have died so far this year on the island, which is home to nearly half Italy’s flock and plays an important role in the production of famed Italian cheeses such as Pecorino. (AFP)
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Updated 07 October 2024
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Sardinia’s sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms

Sardinia’s sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
  • Some 20,000 sheep have died so far this year on the island, which is home to nearly half Italy’s flock and plays an important role in the production of famed Italian cheeses such as Pecorino

ARBUS: The sheep huddle together, bleeding from the nose, aborting lambs or suffocating on saliva as they succumb to bluetongue, a virus sweeping through flocks on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Some 20,000 sheep have died so far this year on the island, which is home to nearly half Italy’s flock and plays an important role in the production of famed Italian cheeses such as Pecorino.

It is another blow for farmers in a region already battered by a drought aggravated by man-made climate change — which experts say is also fueling the spread of bluetongue and longer outbreaks.

“The virus hit about two and a half months earlier than usual,” 39-year-old farmer Michela Dessi told AFP as she scanned her flock for panting or limping sheep in her fields in Arbus in western Sardinia.

Bluetongue does not present any risks to humans but in animals it causes swollen heads, high fevers, mouth ulcers, difficulty swallowing and breathing, and can turn an infected animal’s tongue blue.

It is transmitted between animals by biting midges.

While cattle, goats and deer can get it too, sheep are the most severely affected, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

Infected and pregnant ewes abort or their lambs are born deformed, and survivors can lose their wool.

Sunken sides are a sign the ewes are carrying dead fetuses. The sick animals struggle to expel them.

The infection rate this year on Dessi’s farm is about 60 percent, and some 30 percent of her sheep have aborted.

Around 50 of her 650 sheep have died — and in a way she said was “horrible to watch.”

With high fevers, “they refuse food and water and some suffocate or drown in their own saliva,” she said, adding that it is illegal to euthanize them.

Nearly 3,000 outbreaks have been recorded so far this year in Sardinia, compared to 371 last year — and the end is not yet in sight.

Bluetongue used to peak in Sardinia in August but has done so as late as November in recent years, according to the region’s veterinary research institute (IZS).

“Climatic conditions heavily influence midge populations,” the animal health division at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome told AFP.

They affect “their biting behavior and the speed of development of the virus, with climate change likely driving the virus’s expansion... and contributing to larger outbreaks.”

Cases have been reported this year in other European countries, from neighboring France to Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Bluetongue has been present in Sardinia since 2000 but Italy’s farming lobby Coldiretti says authorities are too slow each year to vaccinate the island’s flocks.

The costs of failing to rein it in are high.

A University of Bologna study last year found the 2017 outbreak, which killed 34,500 sheep, cost an estimated 30 million euros ($33 million).

That included damages suffered by farms — deaths, reduced milk yields, infertility, abortions — costs to animal health authorities and subventions paid by the region to affected farms.

“The first outbreaks occur in the same at-risk areas each year,” meaning highly targeted measures could theoretically prevent outbreaks, said Stefano Cappai from research institute IZS.

There are three variants on the island this year, two of which can be vaccinated against, with mortality rates twice as high among unvaccinated sheep.

Flocks should be vaccinated in March or April, Cappai said, but vaccines were only issued by the region in mid-June this year.

By that point, the virus had begun to spread unchecked.

Even if the vaccines had been made available earlier, some farmers fear to use them.

Others only vaccinate part of their flock, which means they fail to reach herd immunity, Cappai said.

And some farmers — like Dessi — vaccinated her flock, only for the sheep to catch the variant for which there is no vaccine yet.

Battista Cualbu, head of Coldiretti in Sardinia, who also has an outbreak on his farm, said vaccines are not enough and authorities must disinfect areas and provide midge repellents.

“It would certainly save public money because the region has to pay compensation for dead livestock (and) lost income,” he said, including less milk sold and fewer lambs for the slaughterhouse.

Compensation is set at 150 euros per sheep killed by bluetongue — a figure Coldiretti is battling to increase, although the region has failed to pay up over the past three years, Dessi said.

As temperatures fall, the case numbers are expected to decline but Dessi said the end was weeks away.

“I’ve dug three mass graves already and I fear the worst is still to come,” she said.


French prisoner who escaped in inmate’s bag detained

French prisoner who escaped in inmate’s bag detained
Updated 14 July 2025
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French prisoner who escaped in inmate’s bag detained

French prisoner who escaped in inmate’s bag detained

LYON: A 20-year-old French prisoner who escaped last week in the luggage of his fellow inmate when he was released was arrested Monday near the eastern city of Lyon, prosecutors said.

The man was arrested while emerging from a cellar early on Monday in Corbas near Lyon, they said, adding that his fellow prisoner accomplice had not yet been arrested.

The prisoner escaped on Friday. He was serving time for murder as part of a criminal gang and breaching a weapons law.

 


Princess of Wales hands out trophy to Jannik Sinner after Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz

Italy’s Jannik Sinner receives the trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales, after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner receives the trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales, after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
Updated 13 July 2025
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Princess of Wales hands out trophy to Jannik Sinner after Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz

Italy’s Jannik Sinner receives the trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales, after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
  • Kate is the patron of the All England Club and presented the winner’s trophy to Sinner after he beat Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Center Court

LONDON: Kate, the Princess of Wales, returned to Wimbledon on Sunday along with her husband Prince William and two of their children to watch the men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Kate is the patron of the All England Club and presented the winner’s trophy to Sinner after he beat Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Center Court. The princess has been gradually resuming her public duties following cancer treatment and was at Wimbledon for a second straight day. On Saturday, she attended the women’s final and gave champion Iga Swiatek her prize after a 6-0, 6-0 victory and offered consoling words to runner-up Amanda Anisimova.

On Sunday the British royals were joined by King Felipe VI of Spain, a number of former Wimbledon champions and a slew of Hollywood celebrities.

Actors Keira Knightley, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman and John Lithgow were all seated in the Royal Box, as was London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

William and Kate arrived at the All England Club together with their oldest son, Prince George, and daughter Princess Charlotte. Before the men’s final, they spent some time chatting with Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who on Saturday became the first all-British duo in 89 years to win the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon.

Last year, while recovering from cancer, Kate did not attend the women’s final but was on hand for Alcaraz’s win against Novak Djokovic at the All England Club.

This week she also welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to Britain.

 


Gisele Pelicot and Pharrell Williams get France’s top honor

Gisele Pelicot and Pharrell Williams get France’s top honor
Updated 13 July 2025
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Gisele Pelicot and Pharrell Williams get France’s top honor

Gisele Pelicot and Pharrell Williams get France’s top honor
  • Gisele Pelicot, who became a feminist icon by publicly testifying over the mass rapes she endured
  • Rapper-turned-fashion designer Pharrell Williams were among 589 people awarded France’s top civic honor on Sunday

PARIS: Gisele Pelicot, who became a feminist icon by publicly testifying over the mass rapes she endured, and rapper-turned-fashion designer Pharrell Williams were among 589 people awarded France’s top civic honor on Sunday.

Pelicot, 72, and Williams were both named knights of the Legion of Honour on a list announced ahead of France’s July 14 national day.

Pelicot earned international tributes for her courage in testifying at a trial in 2024 against her former husband, who drugged her and arranged for her to be raped by dozens of men over a decade.

She has since been named on lists of the world’s most influential people by international media and the case helped forced a change in France’s rape law.

But Pelicot has remained silent since the trial. Her lawyer says she is concentrating on writing a book giving her side of the mass rape story which is to be released in 2026.

Williams, 52, made his name as a rapper and singer but earned a second fortune as a music producer and after designing clothes and accessories for several brands. He has been Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director since 2023.

His recent Paris show attracted a host of international celebrities, including Jay Z and Beyonce, film directors Steve McQueen and Spike Lee and football and basketball stars.

Actor Lea Drucker, veteran singer Sylvie Vartan, writer Marc Levy and Auschwitz deportee Yvette Levy, 99, were also among the figures awarded the Legion of Honour along with a host of former ministers, academics and top legal names.


Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation

Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation
Updated 13 July 2025
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Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation

Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation
  • The 1,000-year-old Pannonhalma Archabbey is a sprawling Benedictine monastery that is one of Hungary’s oldest centers of learning and a UNESCO World Heritage site

PANNONHALMA, Hungary: Tens of thousands of centuries-old books are being pulled from the shelves of a medieval abbey in Hungary in an effort to save them from a beetle infestation that could wipe out centuries of history.

The 1,000-year-old Pannonhalma Archabbey is a sprawling Benedictine monastery that is one of Hungary’s oldest centers of learning and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Restoration workers are removing about 100,000 handbound books from their shelves and carefully placing them in crates, the start of a disinfection process that aims to kill the tiny beetles burrowed into them.

The drugstore beetle, also known as the bread beetle, is often found among dried foodstuffs like grains, flour and spices. But they also are attracted to the gelatin and starch-based adhesives found in books.

They have been found in a section of the library housing around a quarter of the abbey’s 400,000 volumes.

“This is an advanced insect infestation which has been detected in several parts of the library, so the entire collection is classified as infected and must be treated all at the same time,” said Zsófia Edit Hajjdu, the chief restorer on the project. “We’ve never encountered such a degree of infection before.”

Abbey houses historical treasures

The beetle invasion was first detected during a routine library cleaning. Employees noticed unusual layers of dust on the shelves and then saw that holes had been burrowed into some of the book spines. Upon opening the volumes, burrow holes could be seen in the paper where the beetles chewed through.

The abbey at Pannonhalma was founded in 996, four years before the establishment of the Hungarian Kingdom. Sitting upon a tall hill in northwestern Hungary, the abbey houses the country’s oldest collection of books, as well as many of its earliest and most important written records.

For over 1,000 years, the abbey has been among the most prominent religious and cultural sites in Hungary and all of Central Europe, surviving centuries of wars and foreign incursions such as the Ottoman invasion and occupation of Hungary in the 16th century.

Ilona Asvanyi, director of the Pannonhalma Archabbey library, said she is “humbled” by the historical and cultural treasures the collection holds whenever she enters.

“It is dizzying to think that there was a library here a thousand years ago, and that we are the keepers of the first book catalogue in Hungary,” she said.

Among the library’s most outstanding works are 19 codices, including a complete Bible from the 13th century. It also houses several hundred manuscripts predating the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century and tens of thousands of books from the 16th century.

While the oldest and rarest prints and books are stored separately and have not been infected, Asvanyi said any damage to the collection represents a blow to cultural, historical and religious heritage.

“When I see a book chewed up by a beetle or infected in any other way, I feel that no matter how many copies are published and how replaceable the book is, a piece of culture has been lost,” she said.

Books will spend weeks in an oxygen-free environment

To kill the beetles, the crates of books are being placed into tall, hermetically sealed plastic sacks from which all oxygen is removed. After six weeks in the pure nitrogen environment, the abbey hopes all the beetles will be destroyed.

Before being reshelved, each book will be individually inspected and vacuumed. Any book damaged by the pests will be set aside for later restoration work.

Climate change may have contributed

The abbey, which hopes to reopen the library at the beginning of next year, believes the effects of climate change played a role in spurring the beetle infestation as average temperatures rise rapidly in Hungary.

Hajjdu, the chief restorer, said higher temperatures have allowed the beetles to undergo several more development cycles annually than they could in cooler weather.

“Higher temperatures are favorable for the life of insects,” she said. “So far we’ve mostly dealt with mold damage in both depositories and in open collections. But now I think more and more insect infestations will appear due to global warming.”

The library’s director said life in a Benedictine abbey is governed by a set of rules in use for nearly 15 centuries, a code that obliges them to do everything possible to save its vast collection.

“It says in the Rule of Saint Benedict that all the property of the monastery should be considered as of the same value as the sacred vessel of the altar,” Asvanyi said. “I feel the responsibility of what this preservation and conservation really means.”


The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York

The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
Updated 13 July 2025
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The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York

The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
  • The natural history-themed sale on Wednesday features a 54-pound hunk of Mars estimated at $2 million to $4 million

NEW YORK: For sale: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 million. Why so expensive? It’s the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.

Sotheby’s in New York will be auctioning what’s known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale that also includes a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that’s more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long.

According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before traveling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth, where it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby’s says.

The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70 percent larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7 percent of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby’s says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters).

“This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,” Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby’s, said in an interview. “So it’s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.”

It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby’s says.

Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialized lab that confirmed it is from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said.

The examination found that it is an “olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,” a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby’s says.

It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth’s atmosphere, Hatton said. “So that was their first clue that this wasn’t just some big rock on the ground,” she said.

The meteorite previously was on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. Sotheby’s did not disclose the owner.

It’s not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby’s said.

The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it’s ready to exhibit, Sotheby’s says.

The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby’s says. It’s auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million.

Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long.

The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company.

Wednesday’s auction is part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.