
African swine fever knocks on Amur tiger’s door
On October 20 at a meeting held by the Primorsky Province State Veterinary Service a possible nosogeny of ASF in the neighboring China was discussed. What measures have to be taken to prevent the dangerous disease from coming to Primorye, what monitoring methods to use, and what procedure to follow to combat this infection was on the agenda.
According to the urgent notification sent to the International Epizootic Bureau, on August 1, a focus of ASF among domestic pigs in the Liaoning Province, China, was revealed. On September 14, another ASF focus was found in Inner Mongolia. By October 19, 45 ASF focuses among domestic pigs in 9 China provinces were registered with one in the neighboring to Primorye Heilongjiang Province.
ASF if comes to the Russian Far East can poses a huge threat both to domestic pigs and wild boars, the main prey for Amur tigers making 50% in their diet. Wildlife conservation organizations emphasize that the depopulation of wild boar must be prevented by all means.
Conservation of the Amur tiger in the Russian Far East is supported by the Amur Tiger Centre and WWF Russia.