/ world today news/ There is a real risk for hunting tourism and the breeding of the Eastern Balkan pig in our country, that the European Commission allocates funds to combat the dangerous wild boar plague. African swine fever continues to grow, and after Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, there are already registered cases in Moldova. If measures are not taken in Romania, the disease will also enter Bulgaria.
Bulgarian MEP Momchil Nekov called on the European Commission in its 2018 budget to provide additional funds for preventive actions against the spread of African swine fever. The disease mainly affects wild boar populations, but the threat is also serious to pigs that are raised on pasture. “The losses for the hunting sector, as well as for the breeding of semi-wild breeds such as the Eastern Balkan pig in our country, can be very serious, for this, preventive actions are needed at the earliest possible stage.” This was commented by Nekov, who is a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development from the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.
The proposal of the Bulgarian MEP was also supported by MEPs from Romania and Hungary, where the danger of the plague is currently greater. “I appeal to both the European Commission and the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of Bulgaria for concrete measures in the sector, because Bulgaria will have real economic losses if the disease reaches our borders.” In 2015, the European Commission adopted a strategy for fight against African swine fever, which contains recommendations to reduce the spread of the disease. However, it is up to the Member States to take measures to deal with the disease. “In Bulgaria and in other countries of Eastern Europe, there has been an increase in the number of wild pigs in the last two decades, due to the opportunities for the development of hunting tourism. It is these animals that are the preferred target of shelling. However, if timely measures are not taken, the entire sector in our country, which brings millions of BGN profit, will suffer very seriously. The breeding of the Eastern Balkan pig, unique to the country, from which a number of meat specialties are made, will also be affected. The breed is raised on pasture in the forests, so it is very important that its environment is protected from the disease. Now is the time for action,” said Nekov.
In 2016, as well as in 2015, hunting tourism brought in revenues of over 6 million BGN. For comparison, in 2014 the revenues were 4.1 million BGN, and a year earlier 3.9 million. The sector shows steady growth, and Bulgaria has become one of the preferred destinations for hunting tourism in Europe. Last year, 4,690 hunters hunted in our country as part of organized hunting tourism, and about 40% of them were foreigners, mainly from Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
The subject of African swine fever will be discussed tomorrow at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. This is done at the suggestion of Poland, which has had several cases of infected animals. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are also affected.
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