One of the factors influencing the spread of African swine fever is the size of the wild boar population in the forest. Hunters say they are shooting as many as they can, but they're faced with the problem that there's nowhere left to store the meat. As a result, the Estonian Hunters' Society believes the state should step in.

"Since Estonian hunters are not in the habit of shooting game just to throw it away, we definitely need to revisit how to handle raw meat that has been inspected and tested negative for the disease. Right now, we are not allowed to sell raw wild boar meat and meat processors are also prohibited from selling it, even if it's been checked and found free of the virus. This regulation comes from Europe, but it should be reviewed and an exemption could be requested," said Tõnis Korts, executive director of the Estonian Hunters' Society.

Meanwhile, the sale of heat-treated meat is permitted, but there are few buyers. Both Rannarootsi and Linnamäe meat processors say there is more wild boar meat available than there is demand for it.

"I can confirm that our warehouses are quite full and the situation is bleak — we're stockpiling more than we can sell. Right now, wild boar meat cannot be exported and everything we do sell must be heat-treated. So currently, demand is quite low. Finns used to be our main buyers, but even they are hesitant to consume wild boar meat these days," said Indrek Loorens, a board member of Linnamäe meat processing company.

"This is another area where state support might be needed, to help balance the market so that demand or ordering increases, making it possible to put this wild boar meat to use," Korts added.

According to Urmas Kruuse (Reform), former minister of rural affairs and current chair of the Riigikogu Rural Affairs Committee, the state could stimulate the market by purchasing the meat itself.

"One clear way to solve this problem would be for the state to buy a portion of wild boar meat for canned reserves and gradually use it to supply various institutions. If we spend a bit more money up front in prevention, the eventual costs will be lower. If we recall how much the state has had to pay directly for the culling of domestic pigs, that figure has reached up to €14 million," Kruuse said.

Meat processor Linnamäe says they have the capacity to produce canned meat, for instance, for the Estonian Defense Forces. According to Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200), the state does indeed plan to purchase canned meat, but not for Estonia's reserves — instead, it will be sent to Ukraine.

"I'm going to the government to request additional funds from the reserve to help hunters acquire refrigerators to store the meat and to enable the purchase of wild boar meat that can then be canned and sent to Ukraine. This will help solve our problem by encouraging hunters to increase their efforts, which is essential to controlling the spread of the disease," Terras said.

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