The African swine fever is harmless to humans but can be fatal to pigs, primarily commercially raised pigs. Unfortunately, wild boars are spreading the African swine fever and have become a crisis for civilians raising pigs and a threat to other countries.
The government is trying to drastically eradicate most of the population of wild boars that have a chance of being infected by the African Swine Fever and hopefully by about 50 percent. This decision was made when they found corpses of boars with African Swine fever.
The boars are reproducing with the virus, and while others are being culled, more are coming in through nature reserves and parks.
It is easier for disease to spread when organisms are packed together, particularly with boars, as they live and travel as groups. “The wild boar is not unlike us: smart, social, lives in groups, super adaptable, omnivorous: It’s an animal for all seasons and habitats,” says Luigi Boitani, a zoologist at Sapienza University.
Boars are attracted to trash, and because of this, trashcans are being used and placed strategically to keep boars out of Rome. Civilians have also placed gates around trashcans and traps to cull the boars.
Unfortunately, no scientists have discovered cures or treatments to ease or fight against the disease, therefore the government had to resort to eradicating infected boars. So far, thousands of pigs have been culled, and over 15 thousand pig farms have been removed. Incredibly, the removal has caused over 20 million damages.
The African swine fever disease has currently spread to China and parts of Europe, causing chaos for people who commercially grow pigs and for the countries altogether.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/17/wild-boars-rome-italy-african-swine-fever-cull/#:~:text=ROME%20%E2%80%94%20Wild%20boars%20have%20emerged,as%20cute%20piglets%20by%20others.
The government is trying to drastically eradicate most of the population of wild boars that have a chance of being infected by the African Swine Fever and hopefully by about 50 percent. This decision was made when they found corpses of boars with African Swine fever.
The boars are reproducing with the virus, and while others are being culled, more are coming in through nature reserves and parks.
It is easier for disease to spread when organisms are packed together, particularly with boars, as they live and travel as groups. “The wild boar is not unlike us: smart, social, lives in groups, super adaptable, omnivorous: It’s an animal for all seasons and habitats,” says Luigi Boitani, a zoologist at Sapienza University.
Boars are attracted to trash, and because of this, trashcans are being used and placed strategically to keep boars out of Rome. Civilians have also placed gates around trashcans and traps to cull the boars.
Unfortunately, no scientists have discovered cures or treatments to ease or fight against the disease, therefore the government had to resort to eradicating infected boars. So far, thousands of pigs have been culled, and over 15 thousand pig farms have been removed. Incredibly, the removal has caused over 20 million damages.
The African swine fever disease has currently spread to China and parts of Europe, causing chaos for people who commercially grow pigs and for the countries altogether.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/17/wild-boars-rome-italy-african-swine-fever-cull/#:~:text=ROME%20%E2%80%94%20Wild%20boars%20have%20emerged,as%20cute%20piglets%20by%20others.
