display
Teltow (dpa) - Pig farmers from East Germany have turned to Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) with a cry for help.
She should make the fight against the spread of African swine fever (ASF) a top priority and coordinate it.
The federal states and districts did not proceed “fundamentally and with the necessary assertiveness” against the epidemic, it said on Tuesday in an open letter from the five pig farmers' associations from Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia.
According to the associations, the epidemic costs the German pork industry with its 23,000 businesses several billion euros annually.
"Quite a few farms had to give up because of the consequences of the ASP, many more are facing ruin," the letter said.
African swine fever has been rampant among wild boars in Germany since September 2020.
So far, Brandenburg and Saxony have been affected with around 900 dead animals in which the disease has been proven.
It is harmless to humans, but it is usually fatal for domestic pigs.
display
Skipping the epidemic to domestic pigs would, in the opinion of the associations, "immediately cause another ruinous price decline."
The price of pork has already fallen sharply because of the lack of important buyers.
There are export bans on pig parts to non-EU countries, especially to Asian countries.
The construction of protective fences is making slow progress, and there is no conclusive concept for eradicating the epidemic, criticized the five associations.
The federal government referred to the federal states, the federal states referred to the districts and the district administrations did not have the necessary financial means to cordon off areas quickly and thoroughly with professional fence construction companies.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210406-99-96833 / 2