What do boars do in the woods? New study will find out

Knowledge about the movements and habits of wild boars is important for developing a strategy to combat African swine fever, said Jānis Ozoliņš, a leading researcher at the Latvian State Forestry Institute "Silava", and a Doctor of Biological Sciences, on the Latvian Radio science programme "The Known Unknown". Two special trapping cages with live cameras have already been installed in Vidzeme, and another one in Kurzeme. "There have already been examples of catching, but unfortunately they were small piglets that cannot be fitted with these transmitters, so now we are waiting for a more serious individual to enter one of the cages," Ozoliņš said. Once the wild boars are in cages, they will be equipped with transmitters, which for the first time in Latvia will allow researchers to follow the movements of wild boars online. Tracking and better studying the movement habits of wild boars is currently important in the context of African swine fever, the researcher pointed out: "If until now this was the interest of biologists and zoologists - how these pigs live, how far they walk and how large their territory is - now it is already closely related to the strategy for combating African swine fever. This knowledge is very necessary in a practical sense." It is important to understand how and how far wild boars move, because they carry this disease, which often crosses into livestock farms from the wild, causing huge losses. "African swine fever has now become an endemic phenomenon in the wild boar population. We don't know how to cure it yet, vaccines are still being developed and their safety is being tested, but currently the wild boar is the centre of attention as a hotbed of the virus, which is not so easy to eradicate," Ozoliņš admitted. One of the most dangerous animal viruses Aivars Bērziņš, Deputy Director for Development and Science at the Scientific Institute "BIOR", and Chairman of the Scientific Council, stressed that there is a good reason for the attention paid to African swine fever and wild boars. "This is actually one of the most dangerous animal viruses. Especially for pigs, it must be said, it is the most dangerous, and, of course, that is why the attention is enormous. In a country where this disease is endemic, it is a huge, huge threat and risk also for domestic pigs, because this virus can reach domestic pigs," he explained. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the circulation of this virus in nature – in the wild boar population – as best as possible, which is provided by various studies. "It is often the case that we understand the virus well, we understand its diagnostics and basic principles, maybe even prevention, but at the same time we need knowledge about how it happens in nature," Bērziņš explained. This is also the case with African swine fever – the virus itself has been studied quite well. It has been found, for example, that compared to classical swine fever, it is much larger and more complex from a genomic point of view, which in turn means that there is still a long way to go before a vaccine is developed. Attention must be paid to farm biosecurity It has also been discovered that the second genotype of African swine fever, which spreads from animal to animal through direct or indirect contact - through the blood, faeces, saliva and other secretions of infected animals, predominates in Latvia. "The greatest attention should be paid to wild boar carcasses in the forest, because the concentration of this virus is extremely high precisely in the carcasses of these wild boars, where the virus can persist for a long time," Bērziņš pointed out. African swine fever is extremely hardy and can survive both extreme damp and frost. Consequently, it is able to successfully exploit biosecurity loopholes or weaknesses to get into pig farms, Bērziņš said: "Whether it's cadaveric fluids or simply infected wild boars coming into contact with green fodder or somewhere near the animal enclosure, this virus can be brought into the farm with absolutely any contaminated object or material. Consequently, biosecurity on domestic pig farms must be higher than ever."