PHOTO: MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD, DENMARK


PHOTO: VINCENT TER BEEK


HEAL ▶▶▶TH Fence to keep ASF out


Apart from having a stringent border control for livestock lorries, the Danish government also invested in having a 70km long fence, to protect the Denmark from (infected) wild boar entering from Germany. Early December, the Dan- ish authorities announced that the fence had been com- pleted. The construction project, which lasted for roughly 10 months, cost eventually € 6 million. According to the Danish authorities, there are roughly 20 ‘gates’ to allow traf- fic and waterways to function. There, wild boar are being kept at bay using odour signals. In addition, for hikers there are doors in the fence. It is estimated that the only wild boar in Denmark are currently in the south – the population is estimated to be around 30-40 animals. The fence itself has not been applauded by all locals, as protest signs are visible at various locations.


cleaning and disinfection. The explanation on the certificate comes in Danish, English, German and Polish. • Green corresponds to the map and means that the truck can enter the farm’s premises; • Yellow means that the truck has been given one extra round of cleaning inside with soap and can enter a farm after 12 hours of quarantine; • Red means that the truck can enter farms after 48 hours of quarantine – and the colour corresponds with the red on the ASF map – or that pigs can be picked up from a collection station; • Black also corresponds with the ASF map and means that a


The fence to keep out wild boar was completed early December.


seven-day quarantine period is necessary – or that pigs have to be picked up from a collection station. When all is all right, the driver also receives a sealed bag with coverall and boot covers. For the pig producer who will be visited, the sealed bag will be a reassurance that the driver in- deed was checked and approved at the border. The Polish lor- ry is not that far yet. The Danish Safety Wash employee in- deed does find a few remains of manure and dirt both inside the truck as well as on the outside. He clearly shows to the drivers what needs to be done before the truck can move on. The Polish drivers nod and understand. What awaits them first is a drive back into Germany and fix the problem


Dead wild boar washing ashore in Denmark


The question of how to keep Denmark free from ASF got a dif- ferent dimension in October 2019 and early November when even- tually 12 dead wild boar of un- known origin washed ashore on the southern Danish island of Ærø. In this case, the authorities disposed of the animals at the Danish rendering company Daka, without checking for the virus. Dr Stig Mellergaard, DVM, chief advisor at the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food, explained to Pig Progress why this proce- dure was followed. He said, “We


12


test all dead and shot wild boar from Denmark (where we know the origin) in order to document that Denmark is free from ASF. However, testing of animals of unknown origin, has only aca- demic interest and if the result of such a test, unexpectedly, should be positive for ASF, Denmark would have to report it to the OIE and it will be regarded as a Dan- ish case. It will be very difficult to explain to the world that it, basi- cally, is not a Danish case but re- flects another country’s problem.” New cases washing ashore will


▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 1, 2020


therefore be treated in a similar way, Dr Mellergaard said, as the animals are unlikely to be Danish. “Therefore, we have no intention of changing the procedure even if a number of animals would wash in at a later occasion.” The animals were found at differ- ent locations on the coast of the is- land Ærø, where it is not common that carcasses of wild boar wash ashore. In a presentation to the Eu- ropean Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (Scopaff), Dr Mellergaard said: “The herd may


have visited a small island along the German or Polish coast and have been caught by the current and drowned. Or may have fled to the sea during hunting activities.”


One of the dead wild boar washing ashore at Ærø.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28