A year of African swine fever: highest alarm level for Hesse!

A year of African swine fever: highest alarm level for Hesse!

The African swine plague has a firm grip on the South Hesse region for a whole year. In the district of Groß-Gerau, where over 3,000 domestic pigs were counted before the outbreak, there are now only around 700 animals left. The drastic measures have left their mark on, and many pork farmers are pending before, such as "https://www.hessenschau.de/wirtschaft/ein-jahr-afrikanische-schweinepest-in-hessen-kadaver- and-existenzaengste-v1. Class = "Source_1"> hessenschau.de reported.

Combating the plague costs the municipalities millions. The state of Hesse has already taken 20.5 million euros in hand to implement the measures such as the construction of fences and the disposal of wild boar cadavians. In heavily affected areas, hunters are supposed to initiate a new phase in the fight against the plague by trying to almost eradicate wild boar. Over 1,000 wild boars have been tested positively in the district of Bergstrasse, and since April hunters have shot more than 500 of them. The costs for the control of the disease could reach up to 10 million euros by 2027.

an industry in distress

It looks bleak for many farmers. Rainer Roth from Riedstadt-Wolfskehlen has not occupied his pigsty since July 2024 after he had to let 178 pigs cried. Peter Seeger from Otzberg also fights with existence as he has to hold 2,000 pigs in a restricted zone. The additional journey to a distant slaughterhouse is enormous. Seeger is about to lose his insurance, which makes his location even more precarious.

In order to alleviate the economic damage, a second industry discussion on the African swine plague recently took place, which was initiated by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture. Around 30 representatives from the agricultural and nutritional economy, authorities and marketing were involved in the discussion. They developed approaches to improve marketing opportunities for meat from healthy pigs from ASP blocking zones. There are also efforts to get the stigmatization of the meat under control and to create reliable acceptance perspectives for affected companies so that they do not lose their economic basis.

The way forward

An important goal of these conversations is the development of crisis plans that should ensure that the processes work smoothly when slaughtering, processing and marketing in the epidemic. The adaptation of recipes for meat products in the event of a restriction is also up for debate. The focus is on keeping the economic effects as low as possible and not losing sight of the animal welfare aspects. A joint declaration of harmony by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute underlines that meat from restriction areas is considered to be harmless, which should support the marketing, as well as schweine.net emphasized.

Miriam Staudte, the Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, announced that it is working to reduce the blocking measures at the EU level. She plans that an exercise for slaughter, processing and marketing should take place in spring 2025. Experience from a similar case in the Emsland could be helpful. It is to be hoped that these measures will help to secure the affected farmers in their existence and to restore confidence in pig farming in Hesse.

Overall, the situation remains tense, and the economic consequences of the African swine fever will accompany the industry for a long time. A carefree day without positive wild boar cadavers has so far been a long way off. But the efforts to loosen the blocking measures and revitalize the marketing are a first step in the right direction, also informed ml.niedersachsen.de .