Alarm in South Hesse: African swine fever spreads!

The state of Hesse reports current cases of the African swine plague (ASP) in southern Hesse. According to reports from the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture, it is urgently called on to do without New Year's Eve fireworks outside of closed towns. The measure serves the goal of avoiding the sprinkling of infected wild boar in epidemics -free areas. The infected wild boars were discovered near Seeheim-Jugenheim and near the Frankenstein Castle.

The new locations are outside the previous core area, which has been delimited by a 145 -kilometer fence since December 2. However, this fence has not yet been completely built; His completion is expected until the end of January. In addition, positive finds were also reported in a former clay pit between Bensheim and Heppenheim. The ASP leadership has sent thermal drones and carcass test dogs into the affected area to explore the situation.

extended security measures

It is also checked whether further fences are built east of the A5 in the Odenwald in coordination with Baden-Württemberg. Six weeks ago, the strict restricted zone III in the Groß-Gerau district was lifted, but the new ASP cases show that the epidemic situation remains dynamic. Infected Kadaver were also found in the Rheingau-Taunus district.

In winter, wild boars are mostly in the forest, which increases the risk of scabbing from scabbing. While the ignition of fireworks is allowed within towns, according to the Hessian Forest Act, there is already a ban on fireworks in the forest and at a distance of less than 100 meters from the edge of the forest. A total of 2176 wild boar cadavers have been found since mid -June, 647 of which were tested positively for the virus. Almost 200,000 hectares were searched with thermal drones or trained dogs. The farmers' association expects restrictions until 2026.

According to information on the history of the African swine plague in Europe, which are accessible to wikipedia , the virus was first demonstrated in the EU in 2014. The first official finds in Germany are dated September 2020. The responsible veterinary authority has initiated measures on the subject of wild boars and their control to prevent the ASP expansion. The spread of this plague has significant economic effects on animal husbandry and the agricultural economy in the region, such as fre.de