During the meeting, Maciej Perzyna, a veterinarian and researcher at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and member of the National Pork Council, presented an analysis and assessment of the situation of the Polish pork industry in connection with the fight against African swine fever. He pointed out that in Poland the elimination of wild boars is not carried out in a consistent manner, which significantly weakens the effectiveness of preventive actions, also in places where there is no ASF outbreak.
Penalties for people blocking hunting
In turn, Andrzej Kabat from the Polish Association of Pig Breeders and Producers "POLSUS", member of the National Pork Council, presented the activities that should be given special attention to make the fight against ASF effective. He emphasized that introducing a protective period for sows and the idea of abolishing night vision is a very serious mistake. To ensure the effectiveness of hunts that are reported and legal, any attempt to block them should be punished. On behalf of the Council, he proposed to introduce a type of remuneration for those who find a boar carcass. In terms of the wild boar inventory, he pointed to the high effectiveness of camera traps and the use of dogs. He emphasized that proper media coverage of the ASF virus for tourists and people visiting forests is very important. In the case of small farms, he pointed out the need for constant monitoring and blood testing of pigs for the presence of the ASF virus once a year.
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National Pork Council with an appeal to the President. It is about exporting pork to China
The Veterinary Inspection is open to suggestions
Dr. Krzysztof Jażdżewski, Chief Veterinary Officer, referring to the presented proposals, said that they are worth considering. He emphasized that the Veterinary Inspection applies Polish law and EU regulations in the fight against African swine fever. In the latter case, changing an EU act is not easy because it requires the consent of other Member States. As he emphasized, Poland is convincing member states to accept its proposals, although these talks are not easy.
Will the ASF team return?
During the meeting, a proposal was made to reactivate the Interministerial Team for the Fight against ASF, whose task will be to develop and implement the necessary solutions to effectively combat this disease. In the opinion of representatives of the National Pork Council, such a body is necessary because decisions regarding combating ASF concern several ministries, and not only the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
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Will there be a ban on shooting wild boar sows? KRW appeals for common sense
Both sides emphasized that they would continue further substantive cooperation
