The Hungarian authorities' efforts to prevent and control the African swine fever disease are "limited" due to various problems, according to a report by the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) published on Wednesday 21 August.
EU veterinary experts have identified some shortcomings in Budapest's system for the control of African swine fever: - unreliable data on the number of registered farms; - lack of national guidance for the consistent classification of small commercial and backyard pig holdings; - lack of structured and harmonised checklists with clearly defined standards.
In addition, the authorities carry out yearly comprehensive biosecurity inspections in large commercial holdings, but not at smaller commercial holdings, backyard farms and hunting grounds. In general, the report concludes that Hungary has national legislation with requirements that go "beyond" those established by EU rules.
Lithuania. In addition, the FVO has published a more positive report on the measures taken by Lithuania to control the same disease. However, it points out in particular that non-commercial holdings still have deficiencies in the identification and registration of pigs. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)