Bulgaria Presses with FMD Fence on Turkish Border

A watchtower is seen behind a wire fence on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey near Kapitan Andreevo border crossing point some 300km from Sofia, 11 February 2011. EPA/BGNES

21 companies have filed documents for a public procurement for designing a fence along the border with Turkey to prevent the spreading of foot-and-mouth disease.

Over the spring of 2011, a number of villages in the remote Strandzha region in south-east Bulgaria bordering on Turkey experienced severe outbreaks of FMD, leading to the destruction of hundreds of heads of livestock.

Officials said they believed the disease was spread from flares in Turkey by wild animals roaming the Strandzha Mountain forests.

The decision to build the protective fence was taken in April by the Bulgarian government and has provoked displeasure in neighboring Turkey.

The winners of the contest for the design of the fence are expected within 3 weeks, after which local authorities will stage a public procurement for its construction.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!