'Send in the army,' say Italian ham producers as prosciutto pigs face wild boar plague threat

Swine fever is affecting Italy's wild boar population, threatening the domestic ham industry. Photo: iStockphoto

Famous Italian prosciutto ham is under threat The growing number of wild boar infected with swine fever poses a serious threat, and the army must be called in to eradicate them.

Number of wild boar infected with African swine fever (ASF) ), is growing across Italy and threatens to have a devastating impact on one of the country's most celebrated gastronomic products, which has consumer sales of €1.7 billion (£1.4 billion).

“There is no time to lose,” said Stefano Fanti, director of the Prosciutto Consortium in Parma, a city famous for its ham and other meat products.

“We need to step up action — we need to bring in the army against wild boar, increase funding biosecurity, traps and fences, and to attract more hunters,” he told La Repubblica newspaper.

“We need to clearly understand: we need to treat what is happening as an emergency situation, otherwise we will not be able to overcome it. People are really concerned about swine fever. If it moves from wild boars to our pigs, we will be forced to slaughter thousands of them, which will mean that prices for consumers will rise.»

Exports under threat

Today, in Emilia-Romagna, the northern region, where prosciutto is produced, 150 cases of swine fever have been identified in wild boar.

In some regions, special restrictions have been introduced that mean producers can no longer export to countries such as Canada, which have strict regulations on food imports from regions where swine fever has been detected.

“Adoption measures have been taken efforts to contain the wild boar infestation, but they were not enough to solve the problem. «, said Mr. Fanti.

According to the farming organization Coldiretti, there are about two million wild boars in Italy.

Health authorities in the Lazio region are seeking to contain the possible spread of African swine fever (ASF) among wild boars in Rome Population. The measures cover a wide area known as the «Red Zone» in an attempt to curb the highly contagious viral disease, which is fatal to pigs and wild boars but is not transmitted to humans. Photo: Getty Images Europe/Antonio Masiello

Vincenzo Caputo, head of the national swine fever task force, said he was ready to ask the army for help in combating wild boar numbers.

The regional government of Emilia-Romagna declares a need for wild boars. will be cut «drastically.»

Alessio Mammi, the regional official in charge of agriculture, said there was a «national emergency.»

He said the virus must be eradicated because of the threat it poses to the production of prosciutto and similar products, “which are known for their excellence throughout the world.”

African swine fever was first discovered on the Italian mainland in January 2022, since then At least 1,000 cases have been identified in wild boar.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, the fever is fatal to pigs, but is not dangerous to humans.

Wild boar works as a reservoir for the virus, for which there is no vaccine.

ASF is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and first appeared in the European Union in 2014, since then it has spread throughout the continent.

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