In order to stem African swine fever (ASP), Poland wants to allow its army and police to shoot wild boar. He would bring a similar amendment to parliament soon, said Minister of Agriculture Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski on Wednesday the radio station Jedynka. So far, there are no requirements for army and police for the shooting of wild boar.
After numerous evidence of swine fever over the past few weeks, there is growing concern in Poland that the virus is spreading further. "We can not do it without shooting," says Ardanowski. According to the minister, the change in legislation also obliges hunters to participate in the shooting of wild boar in areas affected by the disease.
On Tuesday, several hundred pig farmers had protested in front of the Hunters Association branch in Warsaw because, from their point of view, the hunters were shooting too few wild boars.
Rising pork prices feared
Since mid-November, several dozens of wild boar carcasses infected with the virus have been found in the Lubusz region of western Poland. On Tuesday of last week, the pathogen was found in a dead boar near Nowogrod Bobrzanski. The village is located about 40 kilometers from the German-Polish border.
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Most recently, the virus also appeared in a wild boar in the administrative district of Greater Poland, about 70 kilometers from Poznan. This case is particularly worrying for the Polish authorities, as there are 3.5 million domestic swine in the region.
Experts have been worried for months that the swine fever virus is spreading to the domestic pig population in Europe. In China, this has already led to rising prices for pork, which is also noticeable in Germany. The illness is not dangerous for humans.
