Court decision in the case of Tambov veterinarians: what happened and what it means for the pig industry

The recent news about the cancellation of the recovery of 121 million rubles from Tambov veterinarians worries many. The Arbitration COURT of Appeal decided to overturn the previous decision of the Arbitration Court of the Tambov Region on the recovery of damages associated with the elimination of African swine fever at the site of pork producer Tsentralnoye LLC. This decision has caused a lot of excitement and discussion in the pork industry.

When considering the appeal of the veterinary department and the regional government, it was revealed that the veterinary violations identified at the Tsentralny site two months before the outbreak of African swine fever did not provide for the payment of compensation. The decision was an unexpected turn in a case that had attracted public attention.

The Central pig farm is a significant player in the industry, with a capacity of 5.7 thousand tons of MEAT per year. During its existence, starting in 2010, a breeding farm for 245 heads of sows, a reproducer for 2 thousand heads of sows, a fattening area for 13.5 thousand heads of pigs were created, and a feed mill with a capacity of 12 tons of feed per hour was built. The total investment in the farm exceeded 1.3 billion rubles.

However, despite large investments, the farm’s revenue in 2023 amounted to 118 million rubles, with a net loss of 90 million rubles. These figures represent a significant decrease compared to the previous year, when the figures were RUB 51 million in revenue and RUB 63 million in loss, respectively.

Tsentralnoye LLC demanded to recover significant amounts of damages and interest from the veterinary department, assessing the damage from the seizure of animals at three sites in May 2021. At that moment, about 40 thousand heads of pigs with a total weight of 2.5 thousand tons were seized. The company appealed to the regional administration, and the court's decision in this case was an important step in resolving the dispute.

This court decision has far-reaching implications for the pork industry, highlighting the importance of following veterinary standards and procedures to prevent similar situations in the future.