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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 09:32

If African swine fever keeps spreading, fodder exports through Riga Port will be threatened

BC, Riga, 14.08.2015.Print version
Already in 2014 the Food and Veterinary Service was tasked with providing guarantees to third countries that despite the presence of African swine fever in Latvia, fodder exports through Riga Port will continue along the same lines, however, due to the spread of the disease this year, the said exports may be threatened, the Food and Veterinary Service Director Maris Balodis told LETA.

"If the disease gets close enough to Riga that the city will have to be included in the quarantine zone, namely, if the infected boars are detected in a 40 kilometer radius around Riga, fodder exports through Riga Port will be seriously threatened," said Balodis.

 

According to the Food and Veterinary Service, in the first half of 2015, Riga Port exported more than 700 fodder cargoes to Belarus, Russia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and other third countries. The port also exported almost 300 animal product cargoes to Lebanon, Georgia, Malaysia, the United States, Morocco, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Egypt, and Singapore.

 

"Already last year we had to guarantee that Riga is not part of the said zone. Unfortunately, wild boar population and activity, as well as forest density, facilitates the spread of African swine fever in Latvia. If boar population is not reduced, sooner or later the disease will take over all of Latvia," said Balodis.

 

For this reason the Food and Veterinary Service urges city mayors to control the hunting process by expanding the hunting territories.






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