The signage has already been installed at the Kõpsta pig farm in the village of Piibe, Lääne-Viru County, following a one-month ban on entering 10 farms in Estonia entered into force Tuesday evening.

ASF has reached epidemic proportions in Estonia, leading to the slaughter of over 20,000 pigs as of last week, since the first cases were detected in June.

The bar on gathering means protests such as the one at the Nurme farm in Viljandi County, where ASF cases had been detected, cannot go ahead when restrictions are in place. The restriction applies mostly to larger pig farms.

Director General of the state Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) Raimo Heinam told "Aktuaalne kaamera!: "Local residents can move home, to work and there are no restrictions on transport servicing the farm either. In some cases, the stay restriction has also been imposed on roads. We confirm that we have contacted the owners of these roads and they understand the necessity of the restrictions."

The latest ban started on Tuesday at 9 p.m. and is initially for one month.

The ban is imposed on the farm territory and its immediate vicinity under the Law on Maintaining Public Order and the Veterinary Act.

"The aim of bans on staying around pig farms is to control and prevent the spread of the disease. Unauthorized people on the pig farm territory and its surroundings may carry the plague further and expand the area of spread," Heinam went on.

Heinam conceded that setting up restricted areas turned out to be more complicated than expected, once owners of properties bordering an affected farm are taken into consideration, as well as the legal and drafting process.

Even ordering signage and placing it at affected areas are among the "really very many nuances that must be considered," Heinam noted.

Meelis Laande, CEO of Atria Estonia, one of the firms affected, said that a ban around three of the firm's farms is under preparation. The Palamuse, Teedla and Kuula farms, noting the first of these has a herd of around 10,000 while the latter two, which he said were fattening farms, average 7,300 pigs.

Laande called the latest measures "extremely necessary," adding the "situation is extremely critical and I find that all measures are welcome that would help to put limits on this outbreak."

Laande noted that controlling human movement was vital to curbing the spread of the disease, which can be introduced even via traces of wild boar activity near to a farm.

The ban applies to all enterprises which have more than 10,000 pigs as well as pig farms which are deemed important in terms of reproduction capacity, including for instance piglet weaning farms.

As well as the Palamuse, Teedla and Kuula farms, the ban applies to one farm each in Harju (Hinnu), Jõgeva (Järvepera), Lääne (Linnamäe Peekon), Lääne-Viru (Kõpsta), Põlva (Seafarm), Rapla (Luuka), Tartu (Kubja) and Viljandi (Savikoti) counties.

A one-month ban had already late last week been imposed on the Ekseko Farm in Mäeltküla, Viljandi County, the largest pig farm in Estonia.

The ban does not restrict the movement of local residents, farm workers and farm service staff. For instance, local residents can use roads when transiting through restricted areas. Unauthorized persons will be directed out of a restricted area, while the Police and Border Guard Board will be called out if these instructions are not followed.

While the signs read "Restriction on stay. Proceeding further is forbidden," the PTA has confirmed that passage via vehicle through a restricted zone is permissible, provided the vehicle does not stop. Similarly, pedestrians can pass through the zone but not stop or loiter, the PTA said.

Further restrictions are already being prepared and will be enforced in the second half of this week, with still more restrictions being analyzed based on risk forecasts.

ASF had as of the time of writing been detected at eight other farms, mostly in South Estonia, since late June.

More information on the ASF outbreak in Estonia is here.

The PTA's info page on ASF (link in Estonian) is here.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include photos of the ASF signs being put in place at the Kõpsta farm.

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