FARM VISIT ▶▶▶ “Build a second fence along the motorways”


At the very top, the German authorities have been slow and appear un- interested in tackling the problem of ASF, says Roland Giebels – vice-chairman of the Brandenburg pig producers association IGS. He owns a farm and is also director and owner of feed company Vikra elsewhere in eastern Germany. “Nobody seems to be willing to take responsibility,” he says. “There is no central coordination from the federal ministry of agriculture – they leave it to the individual states. At state level, they leave a lot to the dis- tricts. The result is that different solutions get implemented every- where. You can see it in the way the core zones are being fenced off: you see permanent fences, electronic sheep fences and festival fences. “And fences need to be checked daily. People climb over them, gates are left open, electric wires are not charged; sometimes parts of fences


are simply taken by locals.” For Giebels, the solution is simple. A permanent fence should be built in the east of Germany, making sure the rest of Germany is spared from ASF infection. And there’s a clear opportu- nity for that as various motorways con- nect to form a north–south corridor. As all German motorways are already fenced off prop- erly on both sides, to prevent game runing onto the road, literally all that is needed is proper treatment of crossings with roads and waterways. In addition, Giebels would also like to see proper compensation for pig producers in affected areas.


The German authorities are choos- ing the solution of building a sec- ond permanent fence within a few kilometres of the first one, which runs immediately north–south ad- jacent to the border with Poland. At a press conference in Brandenburg’s capital Potsdam, state veterinarian Dr


Building a protective corridor at the border this strip will include 815 km2


and 51 pig farms with almost Stephan Nickisch explained that this second


fence is under construction and will be completed by around Novem- ber 2021. The protection corridor that will result has to serve as a “bul- wark”, protecting the rest of Germany against ASF, in which hunting as well as carcass surveillance will be intensive. In Brandenburg state,


14,000 pigs. Those farms will be monitored intensively. Once that second fence is completed, the situation behind this bul- wark should become more manageable, as it would mean no new wild boar infections can occur. Should that theory work, it would be fair to assume that after November 2021, the situation behind the protection corridor could be under control within a reasonable timeframe. It may take at least five years before ASF virus is completely gone from Germany, Dr Nickisch said. Looking at Estonia, for instance, the ASF in- fections disappearred bit by bit over the years. If a similar pattern were to be observed in western Poland, it would mean that in around five years the protection corridor would no longer report incidents.


“The fight is going fast and consistent”


Anna Heyer-Stuffer is state secretary for social affairs and consumer protection in Brandenburg state and is also crisis leader in the fight against ASF virus. She is aware of the criticism towards the authorities. She says, “From our perspective, the fight against ASF is going fast and consistent. The decision to construct a double fence parallel to the Pol- ish border has been taken together with the farmers’ union. We also have to be clear though, that not all of the pig industry’s expectations and hopes are realistic.” Pig producers in the affected areas can only claim support when additional costs have been incurred, such as for transport and health monitoring. There is no income support, but if it were down to Heyer-Stuffer that would change. She says, “That is, how- ever, a job for the federal government in Berlin. The federal govern- ment will have to make a proposal and have it approved in Brussels [EU


headquarters, ed.], as direct state support is forbidden. In the affected regions of the state Brandenburg, there are about 100,000 commercial pigs. Obviously, compared to the around 25 million commercially held pigs in Germany, that is a small number. […] However, it can’t be that while only eastern Germany has been hit so far, no propos- al has gone to Brussels.” Arranging a local slaughterhouse in eastern Germany is easier said than done, says Heyer-Stuffer. “It is another problem for which the federal government in Berlin does not show any sense of urgency, but we hope this will change.”


▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 8, 2021 21


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