Italy’s Lombardy Region Takes Drastic Measures, Culling 34,000 Pigs to Contain African Swine Fever Outbreak

In a sweeping effort to contain the latest wave of African Swine Fever (ASF), authorities in Italy’s Lombardy region have culled approximately 34,000 pigs across 12 farms. The recent outbreak in Lombardy, which is a critical hub for pig farming in Italy, comes on the heels of the ASF first being detected in the country in 2022.

African swine fever threatens an entire production system

A spokesperson for the Lombardy government disclosed, “Lombardy is home to half of Italy’s farmed pigs, totaling around five million out of Italy’s ten million pigs.” The official emphasized the region’s objective to “extinguish this outbreak so that it doesn’t pose a threat to Italy’s entire supply chain.”

Due to an outbreak of #swinefever brought by wild boars, which has been predicted for at least a year but for which no preventive action has been taken, tens of thousands of #pigs are being #killed in #Italy. But the problem is not that they are being killed, but how. pic.twitter.com/psrzXLpNsC

— Histöryka: Narration Facts Trasparency (@Historykanft) September 19, 2023

Although ASF does not pose a threat to human health, its potential to inflict a mass die-off in pig populations can have devastating financial repercussions for farmers. The disease has its roots in Africa but has rapidly spread across Europe and Asia, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions of pigs worldwide.

Francesco Velziani, the head of the National Center for Controlling African Swine Fever in Italy, noted that the disease has primarily affected wild boars since its emergence in 2022, with only a few isolated cases among farmed pigs.

This drastic action in Lombardy underscores the magnitude of the risk that the ASF outbreak presents to Italy’s agricultural sector, which heavily relies on pig farming. It also serves as a cautionary tale for other European countries that are vulnerable to such epidemics, urging them to reconsider their biosecurity measures to mitigate the potential economic blow.

Experts argue that while the culling appears to have contained the spread for now, long-term strategies, including improved biosecurity measures and potential vaccine developments, are essential to safeguard the nation’s pork industry.

This mass culling prompts ethical questions surrounding animal welfare and highlights the urgency for more sustainable methods to tackle disease outbreaks in livestock, both in Italy and globally.