African swine fever discovered in Estonia
A report submitted to World Organisation for Animal Health (OiE), on 8 September, by the Veterinary and Food Board, Tallinn, notified the first instance of the listed disease.
There have been two cases so far – a wild boar which was found dead in the Valga district, Hummuli, around 6km from the border with Latvia, and another in the Viljandi district, Tarvastu.
Measures according to Article 15 of the Council Directive 2002/60/EC have been implemented. Council Directive 2002/60/EC lays down specific provisions for the control of ASF, while Article 15 refers to the measure required where the disease is suspected or confirmed in feral pigs.
Last month GlobalMeatNews reported that Estonia was among four Baltic rim states that had established a Baltic-Polish taskforce to eliminate the spread of the disease, which at that point been detected in all the aforementioned countries, bar Estonia.
Ministers of agriculture from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland came together at a meeting on 31 July, where they decided to prepare a joint action plan to prevent the spread of the disease, and to apply to the European Commission for full compensation for the costs related to these measures.
Ivari Padar, Minister of Agriculture, Estonia, said at the time: "Regarding the spread of African swine fever, Baltic countries and Poland are a buffer for the whole European Union, this is why it is justified to apply to the European Commission for additional funds. This money will be used to apply preventive measures to stop the spread of African swine fever and to support farmers in their transition from pig farming to other fields of animal breeding."
