Veterinary board calls on hunters to keep ASF from spreading to pig farms
African swine fever (ASF) cases are on the rise again in southeastern Estonia, which is why the Veterinary and Food Board is asking hunters to shoot more boar in that area, the Baltic News Service reported.
According to the veterinary watchdog, in recent months ASF has been found in several wild boar shot in southeastern Estonia.
As spokesman of the Veterinary and Food Board (VTA), Harles Kaup, said in a press release on Friday, the disease is once again spreading quickly in the wild boar populations of the region.
This is a potential threat to Estonian pig farmers, as there are several large such farms in that area. The number of wild boar should thus be reduced as soon as possible to keep the disease from spreading among the animals on commercial farms, Kaup said.
Estonia's pig farmers have struggled with the disease previously, losing thousands of animals to it in an intense phase of the spread of ASF in 2016, and with sporadic occurrences also in 2017. African swine fever poses no danger to humans or other animals, but can lead to massive livestock losses.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: BNS
