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Tuesday, September 15, 2020
The fears seem to be coming true: African swine fever is spreading in Germany. After an initial screening a few days ago, the carcasses test positive again. An official confirmation of the results is still pending.
After the first case of African swine fever, other wild boars may be affected by the disease in Brandenburg. The Ministry of Consumer Protection announced that five animals had been infected with the virus. These are four wild boars found dead and an animal that was sacrificed. Minister Ursula Nonnemacher said the bodies were discovered in the Neuzelle area in the Oder-Spree district. The tests at the state laboratory came back positive and are now being further examined by the national laboratory, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute.
The carcasses of wild boars had previously been discovered not far from where an affected animal was first found. African swine fever was first detected last week in a dead wild boar found in Schenkendöbern in the Spree-Neisse district, seven kilometers from the German-Polish border. Meanwhile, a 12-kilometer mobile electric fence was installed around the core area of the site. The epidemic is harmless to humans, but the animals infect each other and die.
The disease can have a significant financial impact. Due to swine fever, Japan, Brazil, and Argentina have also banned German pork imports to China and South Korea. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is in talks with the governments of these countries to reach agreements, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
Issue restrictions for three counties
This is intended to limit import bans due to swine fever only to companies in the affected German regions, and not to introduce them throughout Germany. This is also the rule in the EU, which accounts for around 70 percent of pork exports. In fact, an export ban will come into effect for most destination countries outside the EU. The background is that export certificates can no longer claim that Germany is “swine fever free,” as the ministry explained.
Farmers in Brandenburg are concerned with the question of how they and their farms will fare. Restrictions were issued in all three districts, which are up to 15 miles away from the sites. This means that animal trafficking is restricted in the Oder-Spree, Dahme-Spreewald and Spree-Neisse. You cannot enter fields and forests.
