Cull of wild boar after Rome finds African swine flu

ITALY will begin a cull of wild boars around Rome after African swine fever was found in one of the thousands that live in and around the Italian capital, local authorities said.

An isolated outbreak of the hog disease was reported in north-west Italy early this year, and a case found in northern Rome last week – the first detected in central Italy – has triggered fears of a growing epidemic.

Andrea Napoletano, a close aide to the president of the Lazio region that surrounds Rome, told the state broadcaster Rai the plan was to “selectively” reduce Rome’s wild boar population.

The region has banned picnics and ordered that bins be fenced off in much of northern Rome. The boars often enter the city to forage for food in bins.

In a statement yesterday, the Lazio region said of 16 tests done on boars after the first case was detected, two were “very probably” positive, though definitive results were not yet available.

China suspended Italian pork in January after a wild boar in the north-western Piedmont region was found to be infected. The Italian government later appointed a special commissioner to co-ordinate the elimination of the fever.