African swine fever
An animal disease with serious consequences
African swine fever (ASF) was detected in Germany for the first time at the beginning of September 2020. The animal disease was confirmed in a dead wild boar in Brandenburg near the border with Poland. This has also increased the risk of the disease being introduced to Saxony. While the disease is not dangerous for humans, it is fatal for wild and domestic pigs.
To protect the local pig population, the Saxon state government decided at the beginning of 2020 to erect a wild boar defence barrier along the German-Polish border after African swine fever appeared to be spreading increasingly in the wild population in western Poland. This wild boar barrier is an approx. 75-centimetre-high electronic net with a scent component. The purpose of the barrier is to influence the natural migration behaviour of wild boar through visual and actual stimuli.
The Saxon State Minister for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion, Petra Köpping: "It is extremely important for the Free State of Saxony and especially for farmers that we take every measure to increase protection against African swine fever. Please help us with this!"
If African swine fever comes to Saxony, the economic consequences will be enormous. This will not only affect the large pig farms, as is probably primarily imagined, but a whole range of farms, especially if they are located in a restricted area. Here, small hobby farmers and large fattening farms alike are restricted in their activities for several months. But that's not all, because African swine fever not only affects pig farmers, but also the businesses and companies that have a business relationship with the farmers, for example transport companies, feed manufacturers, slaughterhouses and meat processing companies and their employees. This also includes veterinarians, inseminators, animal health inspectors, animal health inspectors, veterinary assistants, veterinary engineers, veterinary technicians and a whole host of other professions related to agriculture and animal husbandry.
For this reason, it is extremely important not to bring African swine fever to Saxony!
Your help is needed!
We ask for your support:
- Hikers, mushroom or berry pickers, holidaymakers or commuters should ideally avoid the affected regions now.
- Wild boars know no boundaries, so only dispose of leftover food at rest areas and car parks in boar-proof, sealable waste containers or take it with you to the nearest safe disposal facility!
- Please report wild boar carcasses! Please contact your local veterinary office. Any police station, local authority, road/motorway maintenance depot, forestry service and the person authorised to hunt will also accept your report.
- In the event of contact with the carcass, clothing and shoes must be thoroughly cleaned and, if necessary, disinfected. As the virus survives for 70 minutes at 56 °C and 20 minutes at 60 °C, appropriate washing programmes should be selected. Neither the forest nor the pigsty should be entered with uncleaned clothing.
Information from the SMS
The Free State of Saxony provides information on current developments regarding African swine fever. more
