Italy will carry out a wild boar culling around Rome after African swine fever was found in one of thousands of animals living in and around the Italian capital, local officials said on Monday.
An isolated outbreak of the deadly pig disease was reported in northwestern Italy earlier this year, and the case found in Rome last week – the first detected in central Italy – has sparked fears of a spreading epidemic.
Andrea Napoletano, a close adviser to the president of the Lazio region surrounding Rome, told state broadcaster Rai that the plan was to “selectively” reduce Rome’s wild boar population.
The region banned picnics and ordered dumpsters to be fenced off in large areas of northern Rome where the disease was found. The Lazio wild boar population often enters the city, looking for food in garbage cans that often overflow.
In a statement on Monday, the Lazio region said that of the 16 tests carried out on wild boar following the detection of the first case last week, two were “very likely” positive for swine fever. Definitive results were not yet available.
Deputy Health Minister Andrea Costa said the spread of wild boar was a problem across Italy and that a “large-scale cull” was needed across the country, despite concerns from animal rights groups and environmentalists. .
African swine fever is harmless to humans but often fatal to pigs, leading to financial losses for farmers. It originated in Africa before spreading to Europe and Asia and killed hundreds of millions of pigs worldwide.
China suspended imports of pork from Italy in January after the disease was detected in a wild boar in northwestern Piedmont.
The Italian government subsequently appointed a special commissioner to coordinate measures aimed at eliminating the disease.
Source: CNN Brasil
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