The Australian government is creating a department that will monitor the livestock and health status of wild boars. The authorities took such measures to prevent the spread of African swine fever. The new body will be called the National Wild Boar Coordinator.
Minister of Agriculture Bridget Mackenzie said that now is the time to create such an agency, because ASF is getting closer and closer to Australia. So, this month the disease was found in Indonesia.
According to the estimates of Australian analysts, if the virus penetrates the territory of the country, the losses of the pig industry will amount to $ 2 billion. In such a large herd of wild boars, which now exists in Australia, the disease would spread quite quickly. 25 million wild boars live on 45% of the land in Australia.
Farmers already suffer losses from these animals, as wild boars consume a lot of resources (water and vegetation), reducing the area of territories suitable for grazing.
To support the new unit, the government intends to allocate 1.4 million over the next 3.5 years. The National Wild Boar Coordinator will work with researchers and institutions specializing in natural resource management.
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