Unauthorized burial of pigs with ASF revealed near Pskov

The police will identify the owners of these animals.

Experts have discovered on the territory of the Pskov region, where eight outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have been recorded, an unauthorized burial of carcasses of dead pigs in a forest near Pskov. They also tested positive for the ASF virus, the regional veterinary committee told TASS on Monday.

Regional authorities reported on July 10 that the fourth, largest outbreak of African swine fever had been identified in the Porkhov district, then, according to officials, more than 30,000 pigs were potentially infected in it. In total, eight farms are under quarantine in the Pskov region, where foci of the disease were discovered.

"The carcasses of fattening pigs were found, this is an unauthorized burial - carcasses thrown into the forest, the corpses of domestic pigs. ASF was detected in them, the result of the analysis was confirmed. An application has been submitted to the police, and measures will be taken to establish the owners of these animals," the agency's interlocutor said.

The first outbreak among the population of wild boars was detected on July 5, within a few days the disease was also detected in four districts of the region. A large outbreak of ASF has become the Shelonsky production site, where 36,000 pigs are to be destroyed. Since July 14, a regional emergency regime has been introduced in a number of municipalities of the Pskov region in connection with the epizootic of the disease. According to preliminary estimates by the authorities, the damage due to ASF is estimated at 500 million rubles.