Bulgaria culled 130,000 pigs in one month
Multiple African Swine Fever outbreaks in large commercial farms in Bulgaria have reduced the country's pig herd by 130,000 head in just one month, according to figures presented by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Six large farms in the provinces of Ruse, Silistra and Veliko Tarnovo have been depopulated in the last 30 days.
In order to protect the industry, the Bulgarian government has issued an order to establish 20 km sanitary zones around the industrial pig farms, with authorities ordering the culling of home-raised pigs by the Food Safety Agency in these zones. According to data reported in 2017, the country's pig herd is about 616,000 head. Since July, pork prices in the country have increased by 30% and may go up further as the local production is decreasing due to the ASF situation.
In neighbouring Romania, there have been 300 cases of ASF reported in July, mostly in backyard farms. Outbreaks have been also reported in Moldova and Russia.
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