Brussels, 31/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - New provisions for fighting against Classical Swine fever, proposed in June 2001, will enter into force on 2 November (see EUROPE 25 October and 20 June 2001). This new directive aims to strengthen existing measures and take into account the experience gained over recent years since the outbreak of this epidemic. It bans feeding pigs on kitchen waste, although the Commission will grant Member States that want temporary exemptions and which are strictly inspected in keeping with the new regulation on animal bi-products (see EUROPE 25 September 2002).
These new provisions also confirm that strategy of the EU non-vaccination policy based on the slaughter of pigs on infected farms, while taking into consideration the possibility of emergency marker vaccinations (which distinguish between vaccinated and infected animals). Oral vaccinations are also authorised (this solution has already been employed in Germany in a similar way with the vaccination of foxes against rabies.