World meat industry news

Two outbreaks of ASF at pig farms in Russia resulted in the loss of 108,000 pigs in 2023. The losses occurred at enterprises with a high level of protection, experts say.

African swine fever (ASF) has struck two Russian pig enterprises in Russia since the beginning of 2023, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture at the II International Veterinary Forum on Pig Breeding said. An enterprise in the Primorsky Territory lost more than 100,000 pigs, and another 8,000 pigs were lost at an enterprise in the Saratov Region, the department said.

The representative of the department noted that both affected enterprises had the status of the fourth compartment, that is, they had a high level of protection. Recall that the compartment is determined based on the location of the enterprise, the methods by which biosafety is ensured at the facility, from the system used at the enterprise for recording animals, their veterinary care, and some other parameters. But a high protection status does not guarantee protection against the virus, the report said. The representative of the department emphasized that the level of responsibility of the owner must correspond to the designated level of biosafety.

In total, 29 outbreaks of ASF were recorded in Russia in 2023 - 17 among domestic pigs and 12 among wild ones, according to the Rosselkhoznadzor.