Brussels rejects German request to lift swine fever restricted zone

The European Commission has rejected on Tuesday (30 August) Germany’s request to put an early end to the restricted zone imposed by Brussels on Lower Saxony to mitigate the spread of swine fever due to a continued high risk of infection.

Read the original German article here.

The restriction zone, which is set to remain in force until October, applies to the district of Emsland after an African swine fever case was identified at a domestic pig farm in July.

But according to sources from the Commission, recent developments in other parts of Germany point to a continued “significant risk” of the virus being introduced into other farms, and therefore, the request was denied.

“There is thus still a need to increase the efforts to ensure a high level of biosecurity and other ASF management measures in pig farms throughout Germany,” sources within the Commission told EURACTIV.

Germany argues that “efforts and protective measures in Lower Saxony” are reason to cut short the restriction, which Brussels decided would run until October.

But the Commission source referred to EU and international standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), according to which restricted zones should in principle be ended after three months at the earliest – provided that no new cases have been reported in the meantime.

Germany asks Brussels to lift swine fever restricted zone

German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has asked the European Commission to end the restricted zone it imposed to mitigate the spread of swine fever in Lower Saxony earlier than planned.

Lifting the restriction zone in mid-September or early October, as requested, would not respect the three-month period.

The source also pointed to the disease being reported across Germany – including in Brandenburg and Baden-Württemberg since the beginning of the year.

Any relaxation of the rules in Germany would have to take into account this risk as well as general “negative epidemiological developments” regarding swine fever, the source added.

In the restricted zone, which was set to be in place in the district of Emsland until mid-October, farm animals may only be transported under exceptional circumstances.

“African Swine Fever (ASF) is a serious threat – a deadly virus for domestic and feral pigs, and it remains an urgent challenge,” the Commission source stressed.

Imposing restriction zones “are key to address the disease and contain the situation on the ground,” the source added.

Berlin blues

Disappointment about the decision was expressed by the German agriculture ministry, pointing to the problems farms faced because of the restriction.

“In Lower Saxony, tens of thousands of healthy pigs from the ASF restriction areas have now reached their slaughter weight,” the ministry said in a statement.

Because the animals may not be moved from the restriction zone, space is becoming tight on many farms, and several farms have already applied for emergency culls, according to media reports.

Lower Saxony’s Agriculture Minister Barbara Otte-Kinast (CDU) recently wrote a letter warning of “animal welfare problems”.

Because of the restrictions, many farms already under pressure because of low producer prices are now unable to sell their pork and are thus worried about economic survival.

The federal ministry, together with farms and state authorities, is looking for “solutions to enable the slaughter and marketing of meat products that can be consumed without hesitation”, the statement also said.

EU countries urge Commission to aid crisis-stricken pig meat sector

Twenty EU countries have called on the European Commission to step up action on the crisis-ridden pig meat sector, struggling with disease and the COVID-19 pandemic, with farmers’ associations calling it an “existential threat to all farms”.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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