ASF Estonia: Tough decisions on the table

Estonia’s authorities plan to decimate 60% of the wild boar population in the country in an attempt to curb the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF), as the financial toll of the disease puts pressure on the government’s budget. Estonia and Latvia have embarked on a campaign to reduce the wild boar population. The Estonian government has approved a plan to kill 15,000 wild boar from the total population of 25,000. Margo Tannik, a spokesperson for the Estonian environmental department, explained that this is a forced measure needed to lower the wild boar population to 3 head per 1,000 ha. She explained that this level would constrain the further spread of ASF in nature. A similar plan is considered in neighbouring Latvia, local news outlet Gorod reported. Over the past few weeks, Estonia has registered 15 ASF outbreaks among wild boar. Some of these cases happened near the Latvian border, the Estonian Union of Hunters reported. In previous years, plans to lower the wild boar ...