Agriculture Minister Kim Hyun-soo: "Thoroughly Inspect Fences to Block ASF"

Visiting the ASF Quarantine Site in Yangyang, Gangwon on the 19th

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Hyun-soo directly inspects wild boar barrier fence facilities near the African Swine Fever (ASF) detection site in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do on the 19th. (Photo by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Kim Hyun-soo, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, instructed on the 19th, "As spring approaches and the population of wild boars can rapidly increase, thoroughly inspect and reinforce the condition of fences to block wild boars along with active capture activities."

Kim, who is also the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for African Swine Fever (ASF), inspected the second fence blocking wild boars near the ASF detection site in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province, and fences around pig farming dense areas. At the site, Minister Kim said, "With rising temperatures, the activity of wild animals and other vectors as well as farming operations will become more active, which is expected to increase the mobility of infected individuals and the virus," urging such measures.

The area visited by Minister Kim has 314 pig farms located within a 10km radius centered on the wild boar ASF outbreak site. If farm-level blocking quarantine is neglected, there is a high possibility that the ASF virus could enter the farms. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is installing separate blocking fences around wild boar outbreak sites and dense pig farming areas to completely block access in order to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever. The pig farming dense area in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, visited by Minister Kim, had wild boar ASF confirmed about 3.6km away on January 15, so blocking fences were installed around the outbreak site and the dense farming area.

The headquarters is making every effort to proactively reduce the population by conducting intensive searches for wild boar carcasses and operating a unified capture period (March to April). Additionally, vehicle entry control measures and strengthened quarantine facility installations are being progressively implemented at 5,529 pig farms nationwide. Farms must be equipped with eight items including internal and external fences and quarantine rooms.

Intensive disinfection is conducted daily targeting wild boar positive detection areas and surrounding farms and roads, deploying about 190 vehicles including joint control teams, wide-area disinfecting machines, and military decontamination vehicles. Nationwide pig farms are disinfected four times a week. Furthermore, wide-area hunting grounds in Gangneung, Hongcheon, Hoengseong, Pyeongchang, and Yangyang in Gangwon Province were operated from December last year until the end of last month, capturing a total of 3,111 wild boars.

Minister Kim said, "Pig farmers should also prevent contamination sources by prohibiting and disinfecting the entry of agricultural machinery into farms and pay special attention to the quarantine management of sows that frequently come into contact with people."