HEAL ▶▶▶TH
Germany’s plan to be ASF-free again
African Swine Fever has been found in Germany’s wild boar population since mid-September. Fighting the virus is mostly up to state and regional authorities. Neither farmers nor hunters are entirely convinced the right approach has been taken.
BY KEES VAN DOOREN, SENIOR REPORTER, BOERDERIJ A Core zone (about 150km2
lot of overtime – that is certain to be in the future of employees of Brandenburg state’s ministry for Social Affairs, Public Health, Integration and Con- sumer Protection (in German abbreviated as
MSGIV). This ministry is responsible for fighting the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus problems in its wild boar population. The German state of Brandenburg – home to 2,300 pig farms – is directly adjacent to Poland, where the virus has been cir- culating since 2014. Since mid-September, ASF has also been detected in Germany. The main aim at the moment is to make sure the virus stays within the restricted area where it has currently been detect- ed. That zone consists of a buffer zone of 2,300 km2
around
two core areas directly adjacent to the Polish border. In mid- October, the southern core zone (including parts of the dis- tricts Oder-Spree and Spree-Neisse) had the most outbreaks, and a few were found in a zone about 60km to the north in the district Märkisch-Oderland. Up until late October, 103 known cases had been found. The primary focus is on keep- ing things under control – the next step will be eradication of the virus.
Controlling African Swine Fever Brandenburg state is the first responsible authority because of how Germany is organised. Each individual constituent state has a relatively large responsibility – the coordination of fighting animal health problems is one of them. The practical execution of those plans is allocated to districts (Landkreise in German), the administrative subdivisions of the states. That approach makes sense, the Brandenburg’s ministry explains to Pig Progress. After all, each district knows exactly what is
22 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 9, 2020 )
• Entry prohibited, with the exception of accredited people and hunters;
• Temporary fences to prevent wild boar from leaving the area;
• Active surveillance to detect carcasses of wild boar and remove them safely.
Risk zone (about 25km around the two core zones) • Pigs have to stay indoors; • No harvest allowed, to make sure wild boar stay put; • Temporary hunting ban; • Reporting system for when dead wild boar are found; • Safe removal of wild boar carcasses followed by research on the ASF virus.
Buffer zone, 2,300km2 – the outer zone
• Intensification of hunting wild boar; • Research on all shot wild boar as well as those found dead; • Game surveillance intensified.
The hunting ban in the core and risk areas is to prevent wild boar from spreading further. Hunting inside these zones is only allowed once they are fully fenced and experts have de- veloped a clear idea of how the virus spread in that particular zone. The ban on harvesting has severe consequences for arable farmers in the area. Conversely, outside this restricted area, the MSGIV intensifies the battle. The hunt for wild boar is more intensive, and the search for wild boar carcasses is more active. Wild boar car- casses are examined for ASF, in order to reduce the risk of the
happening on the spot. The strategy worked well when avian influenza had to be tackled, the ministry adds. The state’s ani- mal diseases emergency unit supports those districts to do their job. Trying to combat ASF is mostly a matter of following a list of guidelines. The MSGIV explains that fighting ASF initially starts with the creation of zones around the outbreak spots, with targeted measures for every zone. This approach is in line with EU guidelines.
PHOTO: ANP/EPA/HAYOUNG JEON
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