Pig farming

Greece reported a case of African swine fever (ASF) at a breeding farm in the north of the country this week, agriculture ministry announced on Friday.

The virus was detected in a dead female wild boar in the municipal unit of Petritsi, in the region of Serres, it said.

Only 30% of the pork we buy is produced in Bulgaria, according to statistics.

Producers warn that pig farming is threatened by mass bankruptcies because the purchase price of pork is lower than the price per kilogram of cucumbers, and the state is neglecting the sector.

Ljubljana – The government will help Slovenian pig farmers with EUR 1.87 million in financial aid, to be paid out on 23 December, to cope with falling prices of pork and pigs and rising prices of fodder, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) said on Tuesday.

Bulgarian Livestock Farmers on Brink of Bankruptcy over Skyrocketing Electricity, Fodder Prices

Today, part of 24,500 pigs will be humanely killed in at the industrial pig complex Tetrahib AD near the village of Nikola Kozlevo in Shumen.

This happens after ASF was registered in the village of Nikola Kozlevo in Shumen. As a result, 24,000 animals will be put down in the next days.

They will be buried in the village of Hersovo.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has promised the state to help restore the pig business that has been forced to kill pigs because of the African swine fever and take biosecurity measures.

This became clear after Borissov's meeting in Varna with industry representatives.

The first case of African Swine Fever in the Blagoevgrad region was registered on August 15. The infected animal was found in the Struma River near Kresna. An extraordinary epizootic committee discussed the measures to be taken. Some 70,000 culled pigs have already been buried in the Rousse region, which is most affected by the disease, reports BNT. 

The spread of African swine fever in Bulgaria, which threatens the Balkan country's pig breeding industry is worrying, an EU Commission spokeswoman said on Thursday, reports Euronews.

The government on Thursday introduced an amendment that will allow the Agriculture Ministry to hire an additional 50 veterinaries in order to speed up inspections at pig farms across the country for African swine fever.

Owners of domestic pigs from the region of Parvomai will stage another protest against the order for the compulsory culling of "back yard" pigs as a step against the African Swine Fever outbreaks in the country. They plan to close the traffic on Haskovo-Svilengrad-Istanbul international road, reports BNT.