An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has been detected at a pig farm operated by SIA Vaiņodes bekons in Vaiņode parish, Dienvidkurzeme municipality, where more than 22,000 domestic pigs are kept, the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) reports.
The PVD has launched disease control and containment measures at the affected facility, as well as an epidemiological investigation. To eliminate the outbreak and prevent further spread of the disease, the culling of pigs will begin in the infected housing units of the farm.
A quarantine zone has been established around the ASF-affected facility. Within this area, the PVD will carry out intensified inspections of pig health and compliance with biosecurity requirements at other holdings. Restrictions have been imposed on the movement of pigs and pig products within the quarantine zone.
The service notes that the main natural reservoir of the disease is wild boar.
The PVD stated that
the exact number of pigs at the farm should be known in the coming days.
The culling process is expected to take at least two weeks.
At the same time, Vaiņodes bekons representative Artūrs Eglītis told the LETA news agency that it is currently unclear how ASF entered the farm, and the situation is being investigated jointly with the PVD.
Given that pigs at the farm are kept in several separate units, Vaiņodes bekons is working with the PVD to avoid having to cull the entire herd, Eglītis explained.
It has already been reported that this year ASF has been detected in 83 wild boar across 37 parishes in 13 municipalities in Latvia.
Since June 2014, when ASF was first registered in Latvia, the virus has been detected in a total of 11,294 wild boar: 217 cases in 2014, 1,048 in 2015, 1,146 in 2016, 1,431 in 2017, 905 in 2018, 430 in 2019, 377 in 2020, 448 in 2021, 1,274 in 2022, 1,002 in 2023, 1,433 in 2024, and 1,500 in 2025.
ASF was first detected in Latvia in June 2014 in three wild boar just a few meters from the Belarusian border.
ASF is a very dangerous disease, and in domestic pig holdings where the disease is detected, the entire herd must be destroyed.
Vaiņodes bekons recorded turnover of €5.938 million in 2024, up 1.8% year-on-year, while the company’s profit fell 5.2 times to €203,618, according to Firmas.lv. In 2024, Vaiņodes bekons generated revenue of €3.019 million in Latvia and €2.919 million in Lithuania.
The company was registered in 1998 and has share capital of €3.463 million. The sole owner of Vaiņodes bekons is SIA Vaiņode Agro Holding, which in turn is owned by AS AmberStone Group. The beneficial owner of Vaiņodes bekons is Nika Berne.
The PVD is a state authority under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for state oversight and control in the fields of food circulation and veterinary medicine.
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