The exercise was led by Michael Seifert from the ASF competence team at the Baden-Württemberg Wildlife Research Center and Volker Schiele, head of the Hardtwald hunting association. The aim of the exercise was for the dog and handler to search for wild boar carcasses. As not every hunting dog has the ability to track down carcasses in the undergrowth, because hunting dogs are primarily trained for hunting searches and not for finding sick dead animals, a test was carried out to determine which hunting dog has the ability to track down wild boar carcasses.
A total of ten hunters and their dogs took part in the exercise. The participants were divided into two groups and asked to find wild boar carcasses hidden in the dense undergrowth. Fortunately, all ten dogs, in conjunction with the dog handler, proved their aptitude for detecting wild boar carcasses. During a debriefing session, the official veterinarians involved and the ASF competence team were able to answer technical questions about the nature and control strategy of ASF.
The background to the exercise is the preparation for a possible outbreak of African swine fever in the Ludwigsburg district. Should ASF have been introduced into the wild boar population, it is extremely important to find and destroy wild boar carcasses in forests and fields as quickly as possible, as carcasses still contain the virus and represent a source of infection for other wild boars. A further exercise will take place in another hunting ring in the district in the near future. Hunters interested in participating are asked to contact the Veterinary and Food Inspection Department.
Background information:
African swine fever (ASF) is a viral disease of domestic and wild pigs that is completely harmless to humans. Pork and food produced from it can be consumed without hesitation. Infected pigs are excluded from food production. ASF has been spreading westwards in Eastern Europe for a number of years; it first appeared in Germany in Brandenburg in September last year. An outbreak of ASF in wild boar leads to restrictions on hunting and pig farming in the affected region and can have an impact on crop production and the cultivation of agricultural and forestry land. An outbreak of the animal disease therefore has considerable economic consequences for agricultural businesses. Therefore, every effort must be made to keep ASF away from domestic and wild pigs and to quickly contain a possible outbreak of the disease.
The ASF virus is very resistant and can survive in food for months or even years. Wild and domestic pigs can become infected by eating contaminated food. The main risk for the introduction of ASF into the pig population in the Ludwigsburg district is therefore carelessly discarded food. For this reason, among others, the feeding of food waste to pigs has been prohibited for a long time. Early detection of ASF is of great importance, which is why carcasses of wild boar found are sampled for the ASF virus by hunters or the Department of Veterinary Services and Food Monitoring.
In order to prevent ASF from entering agricultural livestock holdings, the Veterinary and Food Inspection Department urgently advises pig farmers to comply with biosecurity measures in their livestock holdings. Authorized hunters are asked to report any wild boar carcasses found to the Department of Veterinary and Food Inspection and to test them for ASF.
