Epizootic in Mari El: found someone to punish, but has it gotten better?
The migration of wild boars can expand the geographic spread of ASF, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.
Mari El livestock breeders are worried about the proximity to wild boars. Last year, the republic was hit hard by a major outbreak of African swine fever. Wild animals can become carriers of an infection that has barely been stopped. Rosselkhoznadzor recommended that the Mari El government regulate their numbers, but, according to local residents, these measures were not taken.
On estimated analysts, the past year was unfavorable from the point of view of the epizootic situation. In Russia, 268 outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have been recorded. In particular, outbreaks were discovered in the Republic of Mari El. Many livestock owners lost their livestock - animals were confiscated for destruction. A number of territories were placed under quarantine.
“The Republic of Mari El has maintained epizootic freedom from ASF over the past 15 years, despite the difficult epizootic situation in neighboring regions of the Russian Federation. Taking into account the analysis of infection outbreaks in 2021, the main reason for the spread of infection is the import of meat infected with the ASF virus from regions of the Russian Federation, as well as violation of veterinary rules for keeping domestic pigs by owners of private farms,” – сообщают from regions of the Republic.
We are talking about the detection of a virus in meat samples from some suppliers. Yes, infected was products of Yaroslavl Meat House LLC. It is noteworthy that it has passed all the necessary certification, which is reflected in the Mercury information system. The meat was checked at the Kursk regional laboratory, the certificates were certified by a veterinarian. Rosselkhoznadzor, which is the operator of the Mercury system, also had no complaints about the products that subsequently turned out to be contaminated.
Mariel catering enterprises purchased low-quality pork, having previously verified that it had certificates. Food waste from production was disposed of, however, according to supervisory authorities, some of it could have ended up in personal plots. Citizens who keep livestock do not always comply with veterinary standards for their maintenance. In particular, not everyone knows that food waste should be thoroughly cooked before feeding to animals. The virus could have infected pigs through raw waste. Where the rules were followed, this did not happen.
However, neither the private owners nor the producer of the spoiled pork were held liable. But in the actions of entrepreneurs, supervisory authorities saw a violation of the rules for handling biological waste. Although, according to sanitary and veterinary legislation, food waste at catering establishments is not such waste, with the exception of those working in infectious diseases medical institutions. Nevertheless, the business was obliged to pay a fine.
Despite the lifting of quarantine from some territories of the Republic, experts believe that the risk of introducing the ASF virus into pig-breeding enterprises is still high. Owners are advised to follow a number of preventive measures: do not feed pigs with food waste, carry out deratization, and do not dispose of dead animals themselves.
In addition, it is recommended not to hunt wild boars. They are considered the main carriers of the infection, and last year Rosselkhoznadzor recommended isolating pig-breeding complexes with buffer zones free from these animals. The supervisory agency sent a corresponding appeal to the government of the Republic, however, reportedly livestock breeders, there are still a lot of wild boars around the farms.
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