Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture David Vlajčić has announced the tightening of measures against African swine fever. The disease has so far been confirmed at 89 facilities housing pigs — 44 in Osijek-Baranja County and 45 in Virovitica-Podravina County.
Twelve new positive facilities were confirmed in a single day alone. The number of culled animals has reached 2,822 pigs, the minister stated at an extraordinary press conference.
Since 2023, more than 50 million euros have been invested in combating the disease and strengthening biosecurity. Despite this, Vlajčić warned that gross violations of regulations continue to be recorded. In Jalžabet, a local veterinarian prevented the unloading of more than 300 pigs without the required identification marks, transported from Slavonia. Recently, the illegal keeping of a large number of unmarked pigs was also discovered in Gorski Kotar.
"The responsibility of one person may have averted a catastrophe. Therefore, I call on all veterinarians, producers, hunters and all participants in the system to consistently implement prescribed measures," the minister said.
The National Crisis Headquarters for African Swine Fever is set to meet at the beginning of next week. An urgent review of biosecurity on pig farms in Brod-Posavina, Požega-Slavonia and Virovitica-Podravina counties has been announced, in cooperation with HAPIH (Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food) and the Advisory Service. Hunters will intensify efforts to reduce the wild boar population, and veterinary inspections will focus on farms with the highest risk.
The infection ring is approaching the largest production systems, the minister stressed. Producers, as well as the slaughter and processing industry, will therefore jointly seek a model for the timely placement and processing of as many healthy pigs as possible. "Our goal is to euthanise the smallest number of animals possible and save as much of domestic production as possible," Vlajčić concluded.
Due to new outbreaks in the settlements of Lađanska near Našice and Kućanci Đakovački in the municipality of Drenje, the Ministry of Agriculture has issued a new decision on the expansion of the protection zone and surveillance zone, in line with European regulations.
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