Page 6 - Australian Pork Newspaper

ASF in Germany
European risk zones of Danish Transport Standard. Green zone = risk areas, red zone = high risk areas, black zone = areas under an increased state of alert. Photo credit: pigresearchcentre.dk
The 20 boar that tested posi- tive were found in the same local zone.
All of Europe has been seg- regated into zones relevant to the ASF infection risk, with black being the highest – which the region southeast
If you would like any further information on the situation, please feel free to contact me at asno@danbred.com
AS many readers would be aware, African swine fever has officially been found in the wild boar population in Germany.
Nordic
News
by ASHLEY NORVAL
On September 9, a wild boar carcass located in Landkreis Spree-Neisse, southeast of Berlin, tested positive to ASF, and as at September 25 a total of 20 wild boar have tested positive.
The area the boar were lo- cated was approximately 6km from the Polish border and fortunately is an area with minimal commercial pig pro- duction – as well as being an area Denmark doesn’t typically export many 30kg pigs to, the majority being ex- ported to northeast Germany.
The Danish pig industry is as prepared as it can be, with a pig-proof fence complete at the border between Ger- many and Denmark to reduce the risk of wild boar entering Denmark, and cameras ob- serve mandated gaps in the fence for wildlife.
of Berlin in Germany has now been classified as.
Following the initial dis- covery, a small area of about 15km was created as an ex- clusion zone.
Authorities have worked to- gether with local hunters to kill the limited remaining wild boar population in Denmark, with samples taken from all.
Trucks visiting the black zone must first be disin- fected at one of the approved cleaning and disinfection sta- tions, and are only allowed to drive to an approved Danish collection centre for seven days after returning to Den- mark.
As more wild boar tested positive, the exclusion zone was expanded to a perimeter of 60km, and an area of 150sq km was fenced with electric game fencing.
Massive campaigns have been carried out to educate foreign farm staff about the risks of bringing meat back from Eastern Europe, which has been extended to the gen- eral public.
In other words, they cannot drive directly to a Danish herd within seven days of re- turning from a black zone following disinfection.
Outside of this, a buffer zone of 2300sq km has been created – which is considered to be disease free so far – in order for the rest of German pig production and trade to continue as usual.
Aside from the upgrade in truck biosecurity zoning, it is business as usual for the Danish pig industry.
Germany’s authorities and industry are doing all they can to contain the disease – currently using thermal cam- eras, drones, search teams and dogs to hunt and kill all wild boar in the area.
With three high-quality truck-wash and disinfection facilities built and in use, strict biosecurity rules apply to all trucks returning to Denmark from any part of Europe.
Authorities are working closely with the German in- dustry to assist in contain- ment of the infection and be in a position to quickly advise the Danish industry if the situation changes, in which case the ASF action plan will be engaged.
Page 6 – Australian Pork Newspaper, October 2020
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