Authorised hunters

Hunting plays a major role in combating ASF - both in terms of early detection and containment. The expertise of those authorised to hunt is therefore particularly important in preventing the spread of the disease.

As part of disease prevention, the district asks all those authorised to hunt to keep an eye out for so-called indicator pigs. These are sick or accidentally killed wild boars that have been found dead. Symptoms of ASF in animals that are still alive include fever, weakness, reluctance to eat, movement disorders and breathing problems, diarrhoea, bleeding from the nose, anus and/or skin bleeding and discolouration as well as abortions. In some cases, the animals show a reduced willingness to flee. If an indicator pig is found or shot, it should be sampled. Swab samples and accompanying documents are available from the district. In addition, the carcass should be secured with a tarpaulin until the results of the examination are available. If the result is negative, the tarpaulin can be recovered and the wild boar can be dealt with as usual.