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n light of the opinions of the French Agency for Food Safety (ANSES) and the National Hunting and Wildlife Office (ONCFS) received on October 12th, 2018, and in accordance with the evolution of the health strategy in Belgium, the Minister of Agriculture and Food of France, Mr Stéphane Travert, has decided to adopt the prevention measures applicable in the area adjacent to the Belgian territory affected by ASF.
The risk of introduction of ASF has been assessed by the ANSES as being very low in the west end of Ardennes, so the strengthened surveillance area has been reduced in this area, going from 134 to 113 municipalities. This adaptation of the perimeter allows to recover all the activities (hunting and forestry activities) in the 21 less exposed municipalities in Ardennes.
These municipalities are: Villers-Cernay, Daigny, Rubecourt-et-Lamecourt, La Moncelle, Bazeilles, Douzy, Francheval, Pouru-aux-Bois, Pouru-Saint-Remy, Brevilly, Mairy, Amblimont, Mouzon, Escombreset-le-Chesnois, Messincourt, Sachy , Tetaigne, Eully-and-Lombut, Osnes, Pure and Matton-et-Clemency.
On the other hand, the ANSES has recommended the installation of fences in the border area. The experts at the National Game and Wildlife Office (ONCFS) and at the National Hunting Association (FNC) have drafted specifications that state the design and the practical installation procedures.
The Minister asked the prefects of the three departments involved (Meurthe-et-Moselle, Ardennes and Meuse) to implement the regulations needed to install these fences, based on the descriptions of the specifications. The coordination will be provided by the prefecture of the region of Grand Est. The installation of the fences will allow to resume intensive hunting in the strengthened surveillance area in order to reduce the wild boar population. The active surveillance will also be maintained before resuming the forestry activities in this area.
Saturday, October 13th, 2018/ Ministry of Agriculture and Food/ France.
http://agriculture.gouv.fr
