South Korea culls wild boar at border to stop swine fever

SOUTH KOREA is deploying snipers to the Demilitarised Zone with orders to shoot any wild boar before they can bring more cases of African swine fever into the South.

Sharpshooters from the military will be sent to the border on Tuesday, supported by civilian hunters and drones with thermal imaging equipment.

The cull will focus on areas to the north of Seoul and Incheon, where five wild boar have been found dead this month. All of the feral pigs have tested positive for African swine fever, which is highly contagious and has no cure. It does not affect humans.

The latest outbreak was reported in China in August last year and has spread. Cases have been reported in Mongolia and Vietnam, with North Korean authorities confirming a single outbreak in May.

South Korean authorities offered to assist efforts in the North to contain and eradicate the virus, but were ignored. Pyongyang has made no announcements on further cases.

South Korean has communicated its plan to cull wild boar to the North.

State media in North Korea has made little mention of the disease, although there are unofficial reports from dissident media suggesting that the virus has wiped out entire herds and is out of control. That assessment is backed up by reports by the South Korean National Intelligence Service.

Pork accounts for as much as 80 per cent of the protein consumed by North Koreans, and the loss of the nation’s herds would have a serious impact on the diet and health of its population. Aid agencies say an estimated 40 per cent of the population is in urgent need of food assistance.