African Swine Fever has broken out in northern Italy
African Swine Fever (ASF) has broken out in northern Italy. Hobby hunters are considered the main spreaders of the virus.
In Piedmont and Liguria, the first wild boar carcasses infected with the deadly virus have been found.
For wild and domestic pigs, the virus is highly contagious and 90 percent fatal. Neither a cure nor a vaccine is available. To date, 78 municipalities in Piedmont and 36 in Liguria have been affected.
In Italy, the virus — which, according to the Italian Ministry of Health website, has been present since 2014 in Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria — entered via road from Georgia. This was confirmed by laboratory testing of around 20 animal carcasses. Hobby hunters are urged to forgo hunting trophies.
The affected area begins just 135 kilometres from the Ticino border. In addition to the suspension of hunting, the order also calls for an intensification of passive surveillance through active searches for wild boar carcasses, particularly in the province of Massa Carrara.
It is now essential to ensure that the wild boar remain within the restricted zone and are not driven northward by hunters or day-trippers, emphasises cantonal veterinarian Luca Bacciarini.
Local authorities acted immediately. Hunting will be suspended for the next six months. Hiking, mushroom and truffle foraging, and mountain biking are strictly prohibited. Since last week, the first pig farmers have been required to cull their animals. Until summer, no breeding is permitted and no fresh meat may be moved out of the red zone.
Roberto Moschi, head of veterinary services at ALISA (the Ligurian regional health authority), himself cites the reason for the "lockdown" in the forest: "The entry ban in the outbreak zone is intended to prevent the wild boar from moving. They must stay there and must not be disturbed — within a few days, all infected wild boar will die. Once it is certain that the virus remains confined to this forested area, everything there will be selectively culled.«
Wild Boar in Abundance
The situation is particularly alarming because the number of wild boar on the peninsula is very high, with around 2.3 million animals. A problem that comes from afar, as agricultural entrepreneur Mauro Bianco sums up: “Law 157 of 1992, which regulates hunting and wildlife, is outdated and must be changed. It is a failed management system.” In Genoa, there are more wild boar than cats. They come down into the cities because they find food there.
