VENICE – Pig districts have started in Lombardy, areas within which there must be no presence of any wild boar, created to stop the advance of African swine fever (ASF). Confagricoltura Veneto requests that the Region takes action to establish them also on its territory, given that the presence of wild boars is widespread and constantly growing.
The proposal of the pig-growing districts, aimed at depopulating wild boars in pig-growing areas, was launched by the commissioner of the PSA, Vincenzo Caputo, in a meeting with representatives of the breeders, which was also attended by Rudy Milani, national president of the sector of Confagricoltura, owner of a farm in Zero Branco (Treviso). Caputo explained that i pig districts they must be identified by the Regions on the basis of the density of breeding and pig population, but also on the basis of the presence of slaughtering and processing companies.
“We asked the Veneto Region to convene us for the establishment of the pig districts – he explains Rudy Milani -. To date we have no news, but we hope that a discussion will be held with farmers as soon as possible to evaluate where to establish the districts.
The Lombardy Region has identified three, taking 300 pigs per square kilometer as a reference. In Veneto a large slice of the territory should be considered, given that wild boars are rampant throughout the foothills and hilly area from Verona to Treviso, passing through the Berici and Euganean hills. In addition to managing the districts, we will then need to consider how to manage and maintain them. In fact, concrete and effective actions are needed to eliminate wild boars. One positive test is enough to make an area of 2,000 square kilometers off limits, according to PSA regulations.”
From January 2022 to today, according to data from the Venetian Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute, there have been 2,039 cases of wild boars positive for African swine fever and 21 outbreaks in pigs, with nearby Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna among the most affected regions. “We farmers live in terror, because every day the restriction zones are getting wider and wider – insists Milani -. Therefore the only form of prevention is to reduce the number of wild boars. So far, the actions implemented by the government have proven ineffective. The division we want to make between wild and domestic animals, assuming it succeeds, implies biblical times. The economy cannot wait years, we must act quickly. We remind everyone that once an area is considered infected with Psa, wild boar hunting is also blocked.”
