About 10,000 pigs to be culled on Latvian farm hit by African swine fever

A large pig farm in the central Latvian municipality of Salaspils has to slaughter its whole 10,000 swine after it has been hit by African swine fever, the Latvian food and veterinary authority said on Tuesday.

The Food and Veterinary Service said it had just received positive test results confirming the presence of the deadly virus on Bunci farm, which is owned by Ancers company. Its other farm Rukas in the nearby Krimulda municipality was affected by the porcine disease last month.

The veterinary authority is now taking measures to stem the outbreak, which will include the culling of all 10,000 pigs on the farm. Bunci is the largest pig farm hit by African swine fever in Latvia.

A quarantine has been declared 10 km around the affected farm. In this area, veterinary inspectors will be monitoring the health of both domestic pigs and wild boars, as well as the movement of transport vehicles, paying special attention to the transportation of live animals and meat products.

The outbreak of African swine fever on Rukas farm in January shocked the Latvian pig farming industry as this farm had been known for its high bio-safety standards.

A state of emergency has been declared in three Latvian municipalities -- Salaspils, Adazi and Krimulda -- over the swine fever outbreak. Endit