Suche
Mein Konto
Fight against swine fever: South Hesse's farmers in dire straits!
African swine fever has been putting a heavy strain on the economy in southern Hesse for a year, threatening farmers and costing millions.
Fight against swine fever: South Hesse's farmers in dire straits!
African swine fever (ASF) has had a devastating impact on the animal husbandry industry since it broke out in southern Hesse a year ago. In the region, which is heavily affected by wild boar falls, trained teams have to recover up to 100 carcasses per week. Loud hessenschau.de The costs of combating the epidemic have already risen to several million euros. This is causing far-reaching financial concerns for pig farmers, who are increasingly considering giving up their operations.
The numbers speak for themselves: Before the outbreak, over 3,000 domestic pigs were kept in the Groß-Gerau district, but now only around 700 remain. One example is Rainer Roth from Riedstadt-Wolfskehlen, who has not had any animals since July 2024 after his 178 pigs were culled. Despite having a modern stable, he doesn't dare buy new pigs. Whether similar desperation also prevails among other farmers can be seen in the case of Peter Seeger from Otzberg, who has to incur high transport costs for his 2,000 pigs due to the exclusion zone. The impending expiry of his insurance also increases his existential fears.
Measures to contain ASF
To combat ASF, hunters in the Tongruben nature reserve have begun to almost eradicate wild boars in heavily affected areas. In the Bergstrasse district, over 1,000 wild boars have already tested positive for the disease, and hunters have shot more than 500 animals since April hessenschau.de reported. The financial burden on the district treasury of the Bergstrasse district office amounts to around 3.5 million euros, and it is estimated that the costs could rise to up to 10 million euros by 2027. The state of Hesse has already invested 20.5 million euros in combating ASF in order to secure pig farming in the region.
A crucial point is that the disease can be considered overcome if no positive wild boar carcass is found for over a year. However, the challenges facing farmers are enormous and urgently needed economic aid is being discussed.
Industry discussions in Lower Saxony
A position paper on the limitation of EU legal restriction measures was drawn up to emphasize the safety of meat from restriction areas. In order to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and dispel reservations, an exercise on slaughtering, processing and marketing is planned for spring 2025. Minister Staudte is also planning further talks with the EU to reduce the lockdown measures.
The intensive discussion of ASF shows that the industry depends on support and innovative solutions to secure the existence of pig farmers.