Share via Email

The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute in Germany (analogous to the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory) has confirmed African swine fever (ASF) in at least twelve boars since September 10th.  Most of the cases were discovered in a 10-mile2 area in the Oder-Spree District in the state of Brandenburg, close to the Eastern border with Poland. 

The number of dead animals yielding ASF virus suggests widespread infection in feral swine.  Authorities are now working to ensure that the infection is not introduced into commercial farms as a result of defective biosecurity.

It is again emphasized that if ASF were to be introduced into the wild boar population in the U.S. Gulf Coast states, extensive dissemination of the disease would occur as in Eastern Europe. In 2019 the USDA assigned $75 million in a pilot program to eradicate feral hogs.  It is suggested that this initiative should assume a greater level of priority with commensurate allocation of money and resources, given the consequences of introduction of ASF into the U.S. including disruption of exports and a high cost of control and eradication.

It is estimated that there are close to ten million feral hogs in the U.S. with a presence in possibly as many as thirty-nine states.  Dale Nolte quoted in The Atlantic September 19th 2020 edition in an article by Diane Peters, refers to the hog problem as a "feral swine bomb".  Nolte is the manager of The National Feral Swine Damage Management Program.  Most of the feral hogs in the U.S. are hybrids of domestic breeds and wild boar.  It is estimated that Texas may have as many as 1.5 million feral hogs with Florida, Georgia, and California also having large populations, essentially out of control.  Wildlife biologists have determined that when organized shooting occurs, hogs become nocturnal creating even more difficulty in reducing populations. 

Regrettably, so called "sportsmen" have transported feral hogs from Gulf Coast states to as far north as Saskatchewan and Ontario creating problems in Canada.