GTW
NEWS
FACE Calls on Hunters
to Fight Against
African Swine Fever
Since the outbreak of African
Swine Fever (ASF) in Belgium
and the threat of a spread to
France, Luxembourg, Germany
and the Netherlands, European
hunting body FACE has
organised weekly meetings of
its ASF Task Force.
This task force, which
consists of experts, FACE
members and the International
Council for for game and
Wildlife conservation (CIC),
provides a platform to
exchange knowledge, news
and experience between the
different participants. The task
force already supported the call
of Royal Saint Hubert Club
de Belgique to erect a fence in
the infected zone by sending a
letter to the Walloon Minister
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of Agriculture and Forestry.
More and more, authorities
are convinced of the important
role hunters play in fighting
ASF.
FACE welcomes, in that
matter, the recognition received
from the EU Commissioner for
Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis
in his speech at the 2018
FACE General Assembly.
FACE hopes to co-organise
an important conference in
early 2019 with the European
Commission on combatting
ASF in wild boar. As
experienced wildlife managers,
hunters know better than
anyone else what is needed in
the field. As there are so many
factors playing a role in the
spread and control of ASF, it
is of the outmost importance
to adapt the measures to the
specific situation at hand.
Financial support for
hunters who are volunteers is
crucial. If this happens, FACE
is convinced that we will come
up with a workable strategy for
the long term which will allows
us to cope with ASF as best as
possible.
What is African swine
fever?
African Swine Fever (ASF)
is a devastating infectious
disease of pigs, usually deadly.
No vaccine exists to combat
this virus. It does not affect
humans nor does it affect other
animal species other than
pigs and wild boars. It can be
transmitted either via
direct animal contact
or via dissemination
of contaminated food
(sausages or uncooked
meat).
The first outbreak
was recognised, with
hindsight, to have
happened in 1907
after ASF was first
described in 1921 in
Kenya. The disease
remained restricted
to Africa until
1957, when it was
reported in Lisbon,
Portugal. A further
outbreak occurred
in Portugal in 1960.
Subsequent to these
initial introductions,
the disease became
established in the
Iberian peninsula, and
sporadic outbreaks
occurred in European
countries such as
France and Belgium during
the 1980s. Both Spain and
Portugal had managed to
eradicate the disease by the
mid-1990s through a targeted
slaughter policy.
Control measures
The European Union has
laid down prevention and
control measures to be applied
where ASF is suspected or
confirmed either in holdings
or in wild boars. These include
information and measures
to prevent and eradicate the
disease. The overarching piece
of legislation providing the
tool for the ASF control in
the EU is Council Directive
2002/60/EC of June 27, 2002.
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