Croatia to cull nearly 12,000 pigs in 'war' on swine fever
Andrew Zinin
lead editor
Croatia began culling nearly 12,000 pigs on Monday at farms in the east of the country, in a bid to prevent African swine fever from devastating the industry, authorities announced.
"We are declaring war on African swine fever," Agriculture Minister David Vlajcic said, announcing one of the largest culls since the disease first arrived in the European Union member country in 2023.
Vlajcic said the cull was already underway at a large farm near the village of Sokolovac, in the east of the country, an area known for its pig farming.
Harmless to humans, African swine fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease with an almost absolute mortality rate for pigs and wild boar.
With no authorized vaccine in the European Union, its spread threatens an industry worth tens of millions of euros per year in Croatia.
"The fact is that the virus has spread, and it will certainly be necessary to take somewhat more radical measures," said Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic.
Authorities said the army may need to be called in to help manage the outbreak, as stricter border controls and surveillance at nearby farms were introduced.
Vlajcic said the exact source of the infection was not clear yet, but humans almost certainly introduced it to one of the farms.
The national broadcaster said a cull was also underway at another smaller farm nearby.
Croatia had more than 873,000 pigs on its farms in 2024, and exported more than 285,600 of the curly-tailed animals worth around EUR57 million ($67 million), according to the national statistics agency.
漏 2025 AFP
