Pig farming faces a major problem. African swine fever is a dangerous disease. It does not infect humans, but flies and other animals spread it. Within a month, 17,000 pigs have died. The latest case was on Tuesday. The disease has been present in Estonia for over 10 years. It spreads quickly in border areas because wild boars come from Latvia.
The government plans to help pig farming. The state will compensate for the loss of dead pigs. It is important that pig farming and industry do not collapse due to the disease. Pork is an important source of protein in Estonia.
Another plan is to strengthen biosecurity and help hunters. More wild boars need to be hunted. If their numbers decrease, the disease will also decrease. On Saaremaa, wild boar numbers must be monitored. It is important that wild boars do not approach farms.
The state will buy wild boar meat. Half a million cans will be made from it. These will be used as food for the military and sent to Ukraine. The cans are made only from healthy wild boar meat.
Olev Kalda said that infected meat is not used. Biosecurity is very important for livestock farmers. Terras wants to apply for support to fight African swine fever. He also wants to modify the rural development plan to help hunters.
Terras said there are too many wild boars in Estonia. Their numbers need to be reduced by a third. He also wants permission from the European Union to use raw pork. This would help in the long term.
Terras will form a working group to find solutions against the constant resurgence of the disease. Atria Estonia's CEO Meelis Laande said industries currently lack sufficient support. The most important thing is to keep wild boars away from farms.
At the end of June, African swine fever was detected in Latvia. In early July, the disease was also found in Viljandi County. Currently, the disease has spread throughout Estonia.