Efforts to combat African swine fever (ASF) are being intensified in the Baltic region, with military forces now involved in monitoring activities. The Estonian government has announced that the country’s Defence Forces will take part in detecting potential cases of the disease, which poses a threat to the regional pig sector.
According to Kadri Kaugemand, head of the Food Safety Department at Estonia’s Ministry of Agriculture, ASF remains a serious threat to pig farming, and effective containment requires joint efforts. The virus can spread not only through direct contact between animals but also via contaminated environments, including soil, feed, or even dirt on footwear.
The involvement of the military is linked to the nature of their activities: during training exercises, personnel move through areas that are often inaccessible to civilian services. This enables faster detection of dead wild boars, one of the main reservoirs of the virus.
As part of the cooperation, military personnel have been instructed to remain vigilant and report any discovered wild boar carcasses to the Agricultural and Food Board, which is responsible for veterinary supervision.
Thus, the use of military resources in ASF monitoring forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen biosecurity in the region, where the spread of the virus continues to pose risks to livestock production and food security.
PigUA.info, based on materials from en.bb.lv