The partially skinned and gutted carcass was found on November 25 in the municipality of Rozprza in Piotrków County — a region Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski has called “the heart of Polish pig farming.” During a briefing, the minister noted that the animal may have been intentionally left in an area with intensive pig production.
“We are investigating the suspicion that the animal may have been planted. All possible scenarios must be examined,” Krajewski said.
On social media, he added that the government “does not rule out sabotage, including from the east,” stressing readiness to “protect rural Poland from deliberate virus spread.”
However, the spokesperson for Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), Jacek Dobrzyński, said that initial assessments do not point to foreign intelligence involvement:
“The circumstances do not indicate the participation of external intelligence services. It is far more likely to be the work of poachers, as the animal had been skinned and gutted, and the carcass was hanging from a tree,” he said.
Veterinary authorities confirmed the presence of ASF in the animal. According to district veterinary officer Konrad Dereń, the situation is under control, while the origin of the carcass and the strain of the virus are being determined. Genetic results are expected soon.
A threat to the pig sector
Piotrków County is home to around half a million pigs across more than a thousand farms, making it one of Poland’s most important swine-producing regions. ASF poses a major threat, as the virus spreads easily among wild and domestic pigs, leading to large-scale culling and severe economic losses.
Last year in Poland, several wild boar carcasses found along roadsides raised suspicions of deliberate virus dissemination, including at least one infected case.
In neighbouring Czech Republic, during a major ASF outbreak late last year, authorities activated sniper teams to track and shoot infected wild boars in an effort to halt the spread.
Containing ASF in wild boar populations remains extremely challenging, as the animals’ mobility and rapid reproduction make the virus difficult to control once introduced into the ecosystem.
PigUA.info based on materials from tvpworld.com