Belgium may regain its African swine fever-free status at the end of this year. This is reported by the Walloon Minister of Forests, Céline Tellier. It has been a year since the last infected carcass of a wild boar was found.
If no new cases of infected wild boars are found, Belgium will be able to regain swine fever-free status at the end of the year. This status makes export to countries outside the EU possible again.
Forestry allowed again
Minister Tellier has relaxed the measures that were in force this week. At the same time, she emphasizes the need to remain vigilant. It remains forbidden to go outside the forest roads and paths without a permit. Also, it is still forbidden to be in the woods at night, due to the continuous nocturnal hunting aimed at reducing the wild boar population.
Forestry is allowed again with an easily obtainable permit and hunters are allowed to target species other than wild boar in the infected zone from 15 September. Visiting a home or second residence will also become easier. Shoes must be disinfected after every off-road trip, but the rest of the equipment used - tools, machines and vehicles - no longer need to be disinfected after use.
Two years ago
On 13 September 2018, Belgium lost African Swine Fever free status after detecting the first infections in wild boars near Etaille, in the south of Luxembourg province. From the extreme south of Wallonia, the disease spread westward and northward over the months, but the situation has been stable since April 2019 and few new infections have been detected in wild boars. The last confirmed infection on a fresh cadaver dates from August 11, 2019. Subsequently, 6 more cases were found, but these were only confirmed on the bones of wild boars that had died several months earlier.
Much lower pig prices
The discovery of African swine fever meant that pig prices in Belgium remained structurally lower than elsewhere. Last year, the Flemish piglet quotation of the Vaex pig trade was on average €10-15 per piglet lower than the DCA Best Piglet Price. According to the VAEX quotation, Flemish slaughter pigs were paid an average of 2019-35 cents less per kilo of slaughtered weight in 50 than the prices charged by the DCA Beursprijs 2.0 slaughter.
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