An outbreak of African swine fever in Poland near the German border has killed 21 wild boar, Agriculture Minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski said on 4 Dec.
Local hunters were instructed to eliminate all wild boar in the area near the town of Zielona Gora; while the government proceeded with additional fencing measures and combing the forests in search of fallen animals.1
More than 2,000 boar have been sickened or killed by the disease this year, most of them in the eastern region that borders Ukraine, where Ardanowski said the disease is believed to have originated.
Earlier this year, amid protests from animal rights groups, hunters killed 270,000 wild boar in eastern Poland in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading. That effort was largely successful until cases were discovered in the western part of the county last month.2
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African Swine Fever Kills More Than 20 Wild Boar in Poland Associated Press