THE’swine fever alert is far from over. The fact that for the moment it is limited to certain territories, thanks above all to the necessary interventions by the institutions, means that the news disappears from time to time. At a national level it is spoken about intermittently, but this does not mean that the problem has vanished, on the contrary. The situation is more serious today and here are the reasons.
Swine fever, latest news
New updates are coming from the Biella area regarding the swine fever emergency. A zone of restriction I for good 13 Municipalitieswhich we report below: Castelletto, Cavaglià, Cerrione, Dorzano, Gifflenga, Massazza, Mottalciata, Roppolo, Salussola, Villanova Biellese, Viverone and Zimone.
However, the worsening of the conditions has led to theaddition of 8 more Municipalities:
- Bucket;
- Brusnengo;
- Candle;
- Cossato;
- Lessona;
- Masserano;
- Support;
- Verrone;
- Villa del Bosco.
We are talking about buffer zonebut what does it mean? In fact, Zone I is the one in which no cases of swine fever have yet been reported. However, these municipalities are on the border with others in which the infections are confirmed.
The prohibitions
Pig farmers are facing a very complex situation, with numerous prohibitions. The animal movements are necessarily limited. Furthermore, assiduous checks are required, understandably, by veterinarians and the ASL.
It is not at all conceivable to loosen the grip, which would cause this condition to spread in a very short time. There are also restrictions in place regarding the wild boar huntingIt is precisely the latter that is considered the swine fever vector.
Here are the words of Roberto Guerrinipresident of Coldiretti Biella and Vercelli: “The buffer zone is unfortunately expanding following the new case of Casalvolone, which is added to that of Lignana. The block on hunting activity involves the stop of depopulation of wild boars, a real tragedy in this period of the season”.
An unsustainable situation, foreseeing how the continuation of the spread of PSA could in fact bring the pig farming sector to its knees at all levels. The biggest risk? A case found in the Dop area, as Guerrini pointed out. It would be a real tragedy.
Hunting regulations and controversies
Wild boar hunting could be practiced, at least in theory, with some restrictions. It is required that the slaughtered animals are not transported. They must be stationed, proceeding with the evisceration on site. The remains must then be placed in cold storage, awaiting analysis of the spleen by the ASL. In this way, the possible presence of the disease can be verified.
A process that cannot actually be put into practice, which led the head of the Hunting sector of the Province to to block wild boar hunting as a precaution in all buffer zones. It also goes without saying that it is unthinkable to hunt in territories where cases have been confirmed.
If the hunters have said they are willing to lay down their rifles, the controversy arises from a completely different issue. Guerrini raises his voice, underlining how the compensation has not yet arrived for breeders who had to “zero out their farms”. All this after a full two years.
“The compensations must be quicker. We need to give a time limit. In six months I have the strength to start again but after two years you can no longer reopen the company.
