The population of wild boars in the Pskov region was reduced to 500 individuals due to ASF

On the territory of the Pskov region, due to African swine fever (ASF), the wild boar population was reduced to 500 individuals. Viktor Musatov, Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources and Ecology, announced this on the air of one of the regional radio stations.

According to him, in 2021, the ASF virus was introduced into the wild. At the same time, the situation has developed in such a way that for the first time in many years, the density of the wild boar population in the region exceeded the normative one.

Since June 2021, 2,000 wild boars out of 2,500 recorded individuals have been harvested in the forests, writes the Pskov Information Agency.

“That is, we not only protected pig breeding facilities and households, but also protected our own wild boar population from infection. We reached the wild boar population density at which ASF will no longer spread in the wild,” Musatov explained.

The chairman of the committee also emphasized that such a reduction in the population will not lead to the complete extermination of these animals. “Maintaining the wild boar density at 0.25 individuals per 1,000 hectares is the recommendation of the Russian government,” the official added.