"There is no final decision yet," said PTA director general Raimo Heinam. "Today's decision [to postpone the culling] is to take some time and wait for the reference lab results from Spain. We'll make our next decisions accordingly."

Heinam explained that when it comes to ASF, the illness and identification of one infected pig is considered equivalent to the entire farm being infected, with no exceptions.

"But today's public initiative is definitely enough reason to consider things and make additional decisions," he acknowledged.

"Given that Nurme Farm also currently meets exemplary biosecurity standards and the risk of the disease spreading beyond the farm is low, we can allow this postponement," Heinam added.

The lab results for samples collected from Nurme Farm are expected sometime early next week.

Even so, the PTA chief reiterated that the decision to cull the animals will not be changed.

"The presence of the virus on the farm has been confirmed and persists, and the risk remains that other animals could become infected," he explained. "We also cannot rule out possibility of the virus spreading beyond the farm, mainly due to human activity."

Dozens of negative samples

Protesters gathered outside Nurme Farm in Viljandi County starting Friday night, demanding that Saturday's planned culling of nearly 4,500 domestic pigs suspected of ASF be postponed.

By Saturday morning, the crowd had nearly doubled from 50–60 people to around a hundred.

Nearly 4,500 domestic pigs suspected of infection with the ASF virus were due to be culled on Saturday, just before the end of the virus' incubation period.

The presence of the virus at the Saimre Agro Group-owned farm was confirmed on July 29. Saimre Agro Group CEO Valmar Haava, however, said all subsequent samples taken over the course of a week, 30 in all, had come back negative.

Because the later samples did not confirm ASF, Haava asked the PTA to order additional tests from an independent foreign laboratory.

"The protesters met with the PTA on Saturday morning," ERR correspondent Olev Kenk reported live from the scene earlier Saturday morning, noting that the agency called a meeting and would announce afterward whether they would postpone the culling or not.

Kenk also noted the arrival of several vehicles bearing EKRE and Estonian Nationalists and Conservatives (ERK) logos. "The issue has been politicized," he said.

'There is no alternative to combat ASF'

Heinam and Mati Tuvi, a board member at the pig farm owning Saimre Seakasvatus OÜ, had previously called on people not to gather near Nurme Farm. Heinam also emphasized the inevitability of disease control measures in Viljandi County.

"The goal is to protect domestic pig farming and the food production sector," he explained. "Unfortunately, there is no alternative to combating the virus."

The PTA chief continued that once one pig tests positive, all pigs on the same farm are considered potential carriers, since the virus can survive for months in various environments — including in feces and soil, and on wood, metal and stone surfaces.

He emphasized that the PTA does not have the authority to take a different course of action in such cases.

From the farm's side, Mati Tuvi, board member of Nurme Farm owner Saimre Seakasvatus OÜ, acknowledged the necessity of the disease control efforts, and confirmed the company's full cooperation with the PTA.

He said the company had proposed extending the quarantine by two weeks to await further lab results, but was told EU legislation does not permit this.

"We will not hinder the culling and will support the PTA and AS Vireen in their disease control activities," Tuvi confirmed. "We hope to restock the farm as soon as possible after the outbreak is contained."

Protest organized on social media

Speaking to ERR on Friday night, Kristi Metsa from the Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals (ELL) explained that the protest was organized on social media, with the ELL also calling on people to come help.

"We just want the farm to be given the chance to wait for the test results from the Spanish lab," she said. "Unfortunately, we don't trust the Estonian labs."

She also warned that officials were expected to begin the culling at 7 a.m. on Saturday, with representatives from the PTA and AS Vireen on site to carry it out.

"Personally, I'm definitely going to stay overnight, and quite a few other people are staying with me," Metsa confirmed, adding that more people were already arriving.

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