MKS in Hungary: Pig fattening farm has to kill 10,000 pigs as a precautionary measure

Guarded by the Military

Due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a Hungarian town, not only 875 cows infected with FMD had to be slaughtered, but also 10,000 healthy pigs in the neighborhood. They will be buried on-site.

Outbreak Details

On April 17, a dairy farm in Rábapordány, Hungary, experienced an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The farm had 875 animals. Now, the Committee for Animal Health and Welfare has decided that a neighboring farm with 9,888 pigs must also be cleared.

Disposal Process

Since there is no slaughterhouse near, the cows and pigs were slaughtered and buried on the farm itself, according to Varkens. The pit is guarded by the military to prevent onlookers from taking photos or videos, sometimes even using drones.

Thousands of Animals Killed

The number of animals culled and died due to FMD in Central Europe has now reached 26,704, as reported by pigprogress.net. In addition to pigs, a total of 16,802 cows and 14 water buffalo had to be slaughtered. Twelve farms in Central Europe were directly affected by the FMD virus - including a previous outbreak in January near Berlin. The other eleven outbreaks occurred in March and April on cattle farms in the border area between Slovakia (six farms) and Hungary (five farms).

Testing Efforts

In the case of Slovakia, 7,490 cows were slaughtered, and in Hungary, 8,466 cows were killed. Additionally, two more cattle farms in Hungary (539 and 307 cows) were preemptively cleared due to contacts.

Major Infected Farms

The largest of the twelve infected farms was located in Slovakia near the village of Plavecký Štvrtok. A farm with 3,521 cows was infected on March 30. In Hungary, there were two farms with over 2,500 cows. In six of the twelve infected farms, there were more than 1,000 animals.

Germany Outbreak Unrelated

Interestingly, it seems to be a coincidence that after a long period without FMD infections, FMD reappeared in two different locations in Europe (Germany and Hungary/Slovakia). The outbreaks do not seem to be related.

Impact on Other Livestock

Although FMD can affect all cloven-hoofed animals, the virus has not been found on sheep, goats, or pig farms so far. However, these livestock farms are indirectly affected by preventive culling, border closures, and transport bans.