MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on March 30 restructuring Russia’s animal vaccine sector into a single state entity, the Russian Biological Industry Company, following a cattle disease outbreak that triggered mass culls and rare protests in Novosibirsk.
The move merges state firms nationwide to achieve “technological independence, sustainable development, and encouraging investment in veterinary medicine,” amid backlash from farmers demanding agricultural officials’ resignations.
Authorities attribute the deaths of thousands of animals to pasteurellosis and rabies, spread from small farms with irregular vaccinations causing pathogen mutations. A U.S. Department of Agriculture report on March 20 cited unconfirmed foot-and-mouth suspicions, questioning vaccine efficacy and cattle trade risks; Russia’s watchdog dismissed this, confirming routine foot-and-mouth vaccinations since 2022.
Pre-2022 Western sanctions, tied to the Ukraine conflict, forced 70% vaccine imports; now, 70% are domestic, with key producer Shchelkovo Biokombinat poised to boost output tenfold from 2021 levels by 2024. The overhaul addresses wartime vulnerabilities exposed by the crisis.