If neighbouring countries do not manage to bring the situation regarding African swine flu under control soon, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry will entertain more stringent measures, and these would also include reducing the wild boar population in Slovakia by as many as 50,000, Michal Feik of the ministry told TASR on Thursday.
Feik was speaking in response to the Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK), which called on the ministry earlier in the day to implement stricter measures in order to prevent an epidemic of the disease, which has been dubbed 'pig plague'. Feik reported that some 60,000-80,000 wild boars currently live in Slovakia. Throughout the past year, veterinary inspectors have examined more than 3,200 captured and 300 dead boars, mainly within buffer zones as part of the monitoring process. The ministry urges pig breeders to comply with biological safety policies and to report any dead or sick animals exhibiting symptoms of the disease to the authorities. "The greatest risk in terms of the spread of African swine flu, however, is posed by the migration of infected wild boars," underlined Feik, who pointed out that the ministry in cooperation with the hunting community has been carrying out intensive measures particularly in the so-called buffer zones - border areas with the Czech Republic and Ukraine. On January 10, the ministry issued an extraordinary permit for boar game hunting.
"African pig plague represents a grave problem, as there is no known cure for this highly infectious disease ... I'd like to call on people to exercise increased caution with imported pork products and to give preference to high-quality Slovak food, which is subject to strict supervision. I'd also like to call on both tourists and hunters in high-risk border areas to exercise increased caution regarding the danger that they might be exposed to and to comply with the instructions of our Veterinary Administration," said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gabriela Matečná (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee).
Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK) spokesperson Jana Holéciová said on Thursday that the Czech Republic was entertaining the idea of despatching its military to tackle their boar problem, which, however, wasn't allowed under its legislation. Therefore, police snipers were summoned to the woods and have managed to shoot dead more than 130 wild boars. OPK Humenné Hunters Committee chair Jaroslav Dutko proposes to reduce the population of wild boars by 90 percent. The disease doesn't pose a health risk to humans, but its presence in Slovakia would decimate the local pork industry.
