Agriculture minister Janis Duklavs headed the Latvian delegation to Luxembourg, where in joint position with other ASF-stricken fellow member-state counterparts lobbied for a full 100% coverage of the emergency costs from the EC for monitoring, controlling and fighting the dangerous disease, which could threaten national pork industries if not contained.
So far this year Latvian veterinary health agency measures have received and used €646,776 of €2.68m procured from the state budget for other EU policy implementation activities.
ASF has hit 119 wild boar in 25 counties, as well as 72 domestic pigs, prompting the culling or preventive slaughter of 564 household or farm-raised pigs altogether. The last confirmed infection in a domestic pig was on September 19.
A state-of-emergency in effect in most of Latgale and Vidzeme provinces was extended until January 1 and expanded to include some of outlying eastern Riga suburban districts in light of the continued discovery and hunting down of infected wild boar specimens in the woods.
