Swine fever threatens agriculture: a year fight at the limits!

Swine fever threatens agriculture: a year fight at the limits!

Korbach, Deutschland - In the past few months, the African swine plague (ASP) in Hesse has made worse headlines. The plague has been raging especially in southern Hesse for about a year and has hit the pig farmers hard. Combating the ASP costs the farmers and the public sector millions - a situation that brings more and more companies to the brink of their existence. According to the numbers of Tagesschau before the outbreak there were over 3,000 domestic pigs in the district of Groß-Gerau; Now there are only about 700 animals.

This dramatic development is also shown in the affected companies. The farmer Rainer Roth from Riedstadt-Wolfskehlen had to have 178 his pigs leg in July 2024. Today his stable looks bleak empty; He fears that a new infection could finally ruin its operation. Another example is Peter Seeger from Otzberg, who does not yet have an infection, but still suffers greatly from the effects. Only the far away slaughterhouses remain with him, which hangs additional costs. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture indicates that measures such as the killing and elimination of infected stocks as well as the hunt for wild boars are of great importance.

hunting and cost explosion

The hunt for wild boars in areas affected by the ASP is intensified. In regions such as the Bergstrasse district, over 1,000 wild boars have already been tested positively, and the hunters are required to succumb as many animals as possible to reduce the risk of infection. Gerhard Held, a hunter, has already recovered 450 wild boars. However, the municipal budgets are blowing up the necessary funds for combating the disease: The district has so far spent 3.5 million euros, which could increase to up to 10 million euros by 2027. These financial burdens are an enormous challenge, which is why Minister of Agriculture Ingmar Jung hopes for support from the federal government.

The AS itself, a highly contagious viral infection, is not transferable to humans, but extremely dangerous for house and wild boars. A single find of a positive wild boar cadaver means that an area is classified as infected, which brings strict restrictions. The firm conviction that the ASP is only considered to be overcome if there is no positive case for a year, the pressure on everyone involved increases.

the look ahead

It remains to be seen whether the situation for the affected pig farmers will soon be possible. The challenges are great, but the local community is committed to looking for solutions. Stay tuned to learn more about the developments.