ASP
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Dr. Till Backhaus has been Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Consumer Protection in Germany, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, since 2006.
GERMANY, Schwerin. After the first case of African swine fever (ASF) in a pig farm in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the animal disease protection measures are running at full speed.
As the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Till Backhaus, reported at a press conference today, the ASF has broken out in a pig farm with 4,038 animals near Güstrow in the district of Rostock for reasons that have not yet been explained. The animals must now be culled immediately and disposed of safely.
In addition, the farm has been closed and a three-kilometre radius exclusion zone and a ten-kilometre surveillance zone have been set up. According to the minister, there are eight pig farms within the exclusion zone, and 20 in the surveillance zone, from which pigs may only be moved after being examined and sampled by a public health officer.
According to Backhaus, the affected farm is one of a total of three fattening farms of one family, which are supplied with piglets in a closed system by an associated sow farm. However, the ASF outbreak was limited to the Rostock district. According to the minister, the "farm is very well managed and has also participated in the monitoring programme". It is completely open how the virus was introduced.
Epidemiologists of the Friedrich-Löffler-Institute would now investigate this "criminologically" on site. According to the Minister, the crisis team has already been "ramped up" last night, and there are agreements with the police and the hunters, because of the transport barriers and the now more intensive Fallwildschwein search. "We must now stand together to prevent damage to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany and the livestock farmers," Backhaus stressed.
He specifically appealed to the slaughterhouses to continue slaughtering pigs from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. He expected three large mail-order slaughterhouses in the area to accept animals from their contract partners. This is also to be done well, since we have with the ASP "at present only a point entry and no area-wide happening". According to Backhaus, this point entry must now be eradicated as quickly as possible.
In addition, the farm has been closed and a three-kilometre radius exclusion zone and a ten-kilometre surveillance zone have been set up. According to the minister, there are eight pig farms within the exclusion zone, and 20 in the surveillance zone, from which pigs may only be moved after being examined and sampled by a public health officer.
According to Backhaus, the affected farm is one of a total of three fattening farms of one family, which are supplied with piglets in a closed system by an associated sow farm. However, the ASF outbreak was limited to the Rostock district. According to the minister, the "farm is very well managed and has also participated in the monitoring programme". It is completely open how the virus was introduced.
Epidemiologists of the Friedrich-Löffler-Institute would now investigate this "criminologically" on site. According to the Minister, the crisis team has already been "ramped up" last night, and there are agreements with the police and the hunters, because of the transport barriers and the now more intensive Fallwildschwein search. "We must now stand together to prevent damage to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany and the livestock farmers," Backhaus stressed.
He specifically appealed to the slaughterhouses to continue slaughtering pigs from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. He expected three large mail-order slaughterhouses in the area to accept animals from their contract partners. This is also to be done well, since we have with the ASP "at present only a point entry and no area-wide happening". According to Backhaus, this point entry must now be eradicated as quickly as possible.
Source: fleischwirtschaft.de; AgE
