The veterinary inspectorate of the State Inspectorate ordered the culling of 341 pigs after an urgent inspection in the Varaždin area revealed serious irregularities in the transport of animals from a restriction zone imposed due to African swine fever. The measure was carried out on Saturday under the supervision of inspectors.
The inspection was triggered by a report from an authorised veterinarian who suspected the transport of black Slavonian pigs. Inspectors found that live animals from the restriction zone had arrived in three transport vehicles. The consignment was accompanied by the required documents, but 340 of the total 341 pigs lacked mandatory identification tags.
The only tagged animal bore a tag that did not correspond to either the dispatch facility or the accompanying documentation. The papers also listed 330 pigs, whereas an inspection count revealed eleven more. Since the origin and health status of the animals could not be established, the official ordered their culling.
Dario Ivaniš, an authorised veterinarian at the Varaždin Veterinary Station, told HRT’s Dnevnik that he was called to the scene after a report about three trucks carrying pigs, marked with the names of Beli Manastir and Osijek, which had arrived at a farm in Kelemen in the municipality of Jalžabet — in the immediate vicinity of a farm where the Varaždin Veterinary Station keeps around three thousand pigs. One truck, he said, was already entering the farm, so he requested the unloading be stopped. An inspection revealed that none of the pigs had the prescribed ear tag, and he reported the case to the State Inspectorate.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries David Vlajčić stated earlier on Saturday that a veterinarian in Jalžabet had prevented the unloading of more than 300 pigs brought in from Slavonia, assessing that "the responsibility of one person may have averted a catastrophe" for Croatian pig farming. According to N1, the animals had been transported from an area where a disease outbreak had been confirmed.
The Inspectorate announced it would continue monitoring the dispatch facility and all entities involved in the transport to determine how the untagged animals were put into circulation. Administrative offences will be issued for the identified irregularities.
