Germany Says Has Suspected Case of African Swine Fever

Sep 14, 2020

Germany's Ministry of Food and Agriculture said on Wednesday it had a suspected case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the eastern state of Brandenburg. [Source: Reuters 9 September 2020]

The suspected case concerned a wild boar carcass found near the German-Polish border. A sample of the carcass was being taken for tests at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut laboratory, the ministry said in a statement.

"As soon as the analysis is completed, Federal (Agriculture) Minister Julia Kloeckner will provide information about the results tomorrow," the ministry added.

Germany had feared a spread of the disease after cases were confirmed in wild boars in west Poland in past months with one Polish case found only about 10 km (6.21 miles) from the German border. Cases have also been recently confirmed in about 10 other European countries in wild boars which are suspected to be spreading the disease.

ASF is not dangerous to humans but fatal to pigs. Some countries impose import bans from regions where it has been discovered, in non-farm wild boars.

Millions of pigs have died or been culled due to the outbreak in China and other Asian countries. The disease has slashed China's pig herd by half since 2018.

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Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!