Bulgarian government approves 3.7M leva to prevent spread of African Swine Fever
Bulgaria’s Cabinet has approved additional transfers to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry’s 2019 budget, of 3.7 million leva (about 1.89 million euro), for preventive measures and actions to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country, the government information service said.
The funds will be used for co-financing by Bulgaria for emergency measures to combat ASF.
The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency informed the World Organisation for Animal Health of more than 100 outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in a succession of reports between July and the second week of November 2019.
In early October, Bulgaria’s Agriculture Minister Dessislava Taneva said that ASF had cost Bulgaria 20 per cent of its pigs. Millions of leva, partly funded by the EU, has been paid to farmers in compensation.
The December 4 decision by the Cabinet follows a decision on July 10 to grant 3.7 million leva to combat the spread of ASF.
At the time, Taneva said that the infection spread easily and quickly, and there was no vaccine.
The only way to respond was the physical destruction of wild pigs and backyard pits, as well as control of goods from neighbouring countries, she said.
