Serbia is moving to contain a fresh outbreak of African swine fever, with authorities ordering the destruction of some 11,000 pigs at a single farm in Vojvodina after the virus was confirmed on site. Agriculture Minister Dragan Glamocic told state broadcaster RTS that the affected farm is located in the Ruma municipality village of Hrtkovci and that the response would move quickly.
“The virus has to be destroyed as soon as possible. The government will compensate the farmer but he will not be able to farm pigs for up to a year, “said Glamocic. He underscored both the scale of the culling operation and the extended commercial disruption facing the farm even after compensation is paid. Glamocic placed the outbreak within a longer timeline, noting that African swine fever has been present in Serbia for almost nine years.
He was direct in ruling out any public health risk, stressing there is no reason for panic because the virus cannot be transmitted to humans, a distinction that matters for consumer confidence even as the farm-level economic impact remains significant. Serbia’s pork industry and the episode is a reminder that African swine fever, despite nearly a decade of containment efforts, remains capable of forcing sudden, large-scale culls with individual farmers absorbing a year-long production gap regardless of government compensation.
