Agriculture Minister: Fence at the Border with Romania will be Ready this Month

Sofia. The fence at the border with Romania will be ready by the end of this month, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Rumen Porodzanov told bTV. The facility will cost BGN 1.1 million, more than initially planned in order to add stronger wire, he said. "Up to now, half of the fence has been installed. We expect the other two deliveries the next week," Porodzanov said. Forest guards and employees of state forestry enterprises have been helping to complete the installation for a month and a half. "The African swine fever is already on the doorstep. The latest outbreak is in Calarasi, 15 km from Silistra. It has been approaching. The Czech Republic has already taken similar measures, installing an electric fence, while now Romania will do it at the border with Ukraine. The issue is very serious. There are already nearly 800 outbreaks in Romania," the minister said.
Regarding ovine rinderpest in Bulgaria, he said that over 8,000 samples have been taken now. The results of the second tests, with samples from the extended 20-km perimeter around the outbreak sites, will be ready within a week's time. The tests will show if the disease has spread. So far the second samples have been negative, Porodzanov said.

 FOCUS News Agency