According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), ASF was detected on August 26 at one of Ekseko’s units located near the village of Mäeltküla in Viljandi municipality. The farm housed 27,832 pigs, all of which had to be culled under EU regulations.
On the same day, another outbreak was reported at a farm in the same region, near the village of Anikatsi, where about 1,500 pigs were kept. The distance between the two sites is just 20 km.
Inge Saavo, head of the Southern Region of Estonia’s Agriculture and Food Board (PTA), told ERR:
“On both farms, one of the samples tested positive. However, if ASF is confirmed, the entire herd must be culled. At Ekseko, the infected pig showed nasal and ocular bleeding, as well as skin cyanosis. Some animals had already died or fallen ill. The sows had to be destroyed, while the fattening herd remains under strict control.”
Priit Dreimann, board member of Maag Agro, the owner of Ekseko, stressed the scale of the crisis:
“We are talking about the destruction of 27,000 pigs. Such a massive production loss will effectively shut down the complex for a long time. Unfortunately, this is no longer just a problem for one farm but a true national crisis — the largest in the history of Estonia’s swine industry.”
This summer alone, ASF has been confirmed on 10 pig farms in Estonia, mainly in the central and southern regions. Viljandi County accounted for half of all outbreaks, while others were recorded in Tartu (3 cases) and Põlva counties. The only northern case occurred in Rapla County, at a smallholding with six pigs.
Most affected farms had herds exceeding 1,000 animals, including units with 6,742; 6,369; and 4,447 pigs.
According to WOAH, since the beginning of 2025, 122 ASF cases have also been confirmed among wild boars in Estonia.
The outbreak at Ekseko stands as not only the largest in 2025 but also the most devastating blow to Estonia’s swine sector in the entire history of ASF in the region.
PigUA.info, based on pigprogress.net