- Fences, dogs and drones for swine fever
In the fight against the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF), additional dozens of kilometers of electric fences are being erected in Baden-Württemberg. Following long fence lines in Weinheim, work has also begun in Mannheim's Sandhofen district, along the Rhine, to install posts and stretch wires. Approximately eight kilometers away, on Hessian territory, an infected wild boar had been found. The restricted zone extends into the Rhein-Neckar district and the city of Mannheim, where hunting and harvesting are prohibited until further notice, and dogs must be kept on a leash.
Electric fences around the core infection area are intended to prevent the spread of infected or sick wild boars. "However, this will not be sufficient. We are ordering more material," announced Minister of Agriculture Peter Hauk (CDU) during a visit to the restricted zone at the state border with Hesse.
An electric fence, such as the one already in place in Weinheim, is not an insurmountable barrier. Therefore, 300 teams with cadaver detection dogs have been trained and drones are being used. Following another cadaver find east of Darmstadt, better security measures are being prepared in the Odenwald region.
ASF was first detected in neighboring Hesse in mid-June in a wild boar in the Groß-Gerau district. The viral disease is incurable and almost always fatal for wild and domestic pigs. It is harmless to humans and other animal species, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. It is not possible to protect pigs through vaccination. The virus is transmitted through direct contact between infected and non-infected animals, primarily through blood contact.
The infected wild boar was discovered eight kilometers into Hessian territory, specifically in the Rhein-Neckar district. Due to this discovery, stricter measures are being implemented in neighboring areas, including the Odenwald region.
