Pigs at center of ASF protests in Estonia still not culled despite go-ahead
Nearly a week after the latest protests and despite authorities' approval, thousands of African swine fever-positive pigs at Nurme Farm in Viljandi County still remain unculled, as the Agricultural and Food Board (PTA) focuses on higher-priority cases elsewhere in the country.
"Culling has not yet taken place at Nurme Farm because other pig farms had more symptomatic or dead animals," Olev Kalda, director of the PTA's Animal Health and Welfare Department, told ERR via spokespeople on Tuesday.
"For the sake of animal welfare, it was important to first cull the pigs showing the most severe symptoms," he added.
After culling 2,000 pigs at a farm in Ilmatsalu, Tartu County, PTA officials and AS Vireen staff will move their equipment to Kuula Farm in Põlva County, a 6,700-pig facility where ASF was confirmed on August 13.
PTA spokesperson Elen Kurvits explained that culling is prioritized based on the severity of the situation and how advanced the disease is, to minimize animal suffering.
This approach is why officials first euthanized sick pigs at Kuula Farm before moving to Ilmatsalu, with another 250 pigs culled at Tässi Farm in Viljandi County in between.
Once culling in Ilmatsalu is finished, officials will return to Kuula Farm to euthanize roughly 5,000 more pigs.
"Our teams are even working on tomorrow's public holiday," Kurvits stressed. She said crews can typically cull around 800 animals a day, but moving equipment also adds time.
Asked when they would reach Nurme Farm, the spokesperson said it depends on how things go at Kuulda Farm. She emphasized that the agency isn't trying to mislead anyone about the delay in reaching Nurme, reiterating that all decisions are made strictly according to the circumstances.
Nurme Farm cull postponed twice already
At Nurme Farm in Viljandi County, 4,500 pigs were scheduled for culling after ASF was confirmed by both national and Spanish reference lab tests in late July and August.
Demonstrations on August 8 and 9, and again last week, drew a mix of local residents, animal welfare advocates, political party members and people mobilized via social media. Protesters demanded greater transparency in testing and delays in culling until foreign lab results were confirmed.
The PTA postponed the cull twice: first on August 9 to await the Spanish results, which came back positive earlier this week, and again last Thursday morning, this time citing a more urgent outbreak in Põlva County.
Culling operations are being carried out by the PTA and AS Vireen, a rendering and incineration services provider, with pig carcasses transported to Väike-Maarja for processing.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Aili Vahtla
