Stockholm | Reuters — A dead wild boar in Sweden has tested positive for African swine fever, Sweden’s Veterinary Institute said on Wednesday, the first such case in the country. African swine fever is harmless to humans but is highly contagious and deadly in domestic pigs and wild boars. It has spread from Africa to […] Read more

Swine fever detected in Sweden for first time
Recent outbreak in Balkans spurred culls

Anti-ASF funds designated for Manitoba Pork
Three initiatives will be funded through the federal African swine fever preparedness program
The Manitoba Pork Council’s efforts against African swine fever now have almost $1 million in extra financial padding. On Aug. 3, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced $944,340 in funding for Manitoba’s hog farm group. Funds were provided through AAFC’s African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program and were slotted for three initiatives: Squeal on Pigs, increased […] Read more

Survey aims to keep tabs on wild pigs
Reading Time: < 1 minute If you’ve seen wild pigs on your cattle operation, researchers at the University of Calgary want to hear from you. The survey intro notes that wild pigs can transmit diseases to a herd and “because pathogens can be transmitted in many ways, it is crucial to understand how wild pigs interact with livestock and how […] Read more

Wildlife compensation program now covers damage by wild boars
Reading Time: < 1 minute The growing threat of wild boars in Alberta has prompted Agriculture Financial Services Corporation to include the invasive species in its Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. “The program will compensate producers for wild boar damage to eligible unharvested hay crops and eligible annual unharvested crops, wildlife-excreta contaminated crops, stacked greenfeed and silage in pits and tubes,” […] Read more

Italy to hold boar cull around Rome to stem swine fever
Rome | Reuters — Italy will launch a cull of wild boars around Rome after African swine fever was found in one of the thousands that live in the Italian capital and the surrounding countryside, local authorities said on Monday. An isolated outbreak of the deadly hog disease was reported in northwest Italy at the […] Read more

Saskatchewan to license, limit wild boar farming
Moratorium placed on any new farms
Saskatchewan is tightening its rules on wild boar farming, including a moratorium on any new farms, in a renewed bid to keep the province’s feral pig population in check. The provincial ag ministry announced the moratorium Wednesday and said it’s “developing regulations for licensing existing commercial wild boar farms.” Regulations for wild boar and feral […] Read more

Swine fever found in wild boar in Italy
Reuters — African swine fever, a deadly hog disease, has been found in a wild boar in Italy’s Piedmont region, the regional government said in a statement on Friday. Tests confirmed the disease in a dead boar in Ovada, located about 120 km southwest of Milan in northern Italy, the statement said. African swine fever […] Read more

Ontario moves to phase out wild boar farming
Province, feds fund swine fever defense plans
Hoping to improve its odds against African swine fever ever getting a toehold in Canada’s hog herds, Ontario plans to regulate Eurasian wild boar as an invasive species starting in the new year. To that end, the province is making funding available to farmers who actively breed and raise wild boar to “shift to other […] Read more

Germany reports first suspected case of African swine fever
German producers currently exporting pork to China
Berlin | Reuters — Germany’s ministry of food and agriculture said on Wednesday it had a suspected case of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the eastern state of Brandenburg. The suspected case concerned a wild boar carcass found near the German-Polish border. A sample of the carcass was being taken for […] Read more

Wild pig problem in the spotlight at pork conference
The number of feral pigs is growing here and playing a key role in the African swine fever epidemic elsewhere
Reading Time: 4 minutes (Editor’s note: The following is an abridged and edited version of two articles. The full versions can be found at meristem.com by clicking on the 2020 Banff Pork Seminar link.) Two presentations at the 2020 Banff Pork Seminar highlighted the threat posed by wild boars. Ryan Brook, a University of Saskatchewan associate professor and wildlife […] Read more