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The Minister of the Environment and Food of Denmark, Mr Esben Lunde Larsen, is not willing to take any risks before the African swine fever (ASF) threat. Due to this, faced with the last cases of this disease in several Eastern Europe countries, the government and the Danish Popular Party have signed an agreement on a series of initiatives to avoid ASF from entering Denmark.
One of the initiatives involves setting up a fence along the Danish-German border to avoid the entrance of wild boars. The building of a fence of some 70 km long and 1.5 m high is expected. Despite the fence, the circulation through the border will remain unhindered, in accordance with the Schengen regulations. Other initiatives include a significant increase of the fines for violations that could entail the introduction of ASF in Denmark as, for instance, an inadequate cleaning of the means of transportation of animals, the illegal imports of food, or the use of leftovers for feeding the animals.
Other European countries, such as Poland or the Czech Republic, are also considering the possibility of setting up fences to avoid the entrance or the propagation of the disease.
Bearing in mind that wild boars are the great threat, it is expected to increase the hunting pressure on these animals, especially in areas of Sønderjylland.
On the other hand, an information campaign has been started, aimed to the pig producers, haulers and other agents, on the risks of the entrance of ASF. An information campaign has also been launched to verify that the haulers obey the regulations regarding the cleaning and disinfection of their lorries after the transportation of hoofed animals.
Thursday, March 22nd, 2018/ Miljø- og Fødevareministeriet/ Denmark.
https://www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk
