Belarus wild boars face destruction over African swine fever

The Liyozna forestry has obtained a permit from district and regional authorities to destroy all wild boars over African swine fever fears, director Roman Selyaznoiu told naviny.by. "We have all the permits and documents in place," he said.

Hunting specialist Aliaksandr Ziazulin from Orsha forestry also confirmed that wild roars in his district "are subject to 100-percent destruction." Commercial hunting has been suspended, while all hunters are given a go-ahead to shoot all wild boars.

It is worth noting that Forestry Ministry did not issue a permit to kill wild boars across the country. Siarhei Shastakou, Head of Hunting Department, declined to comment on the internal decisions of local authorities.

There are over 80,000 wild boars in Belarus and growing - from 56,000 in 2009. The wild animals do harm to the country's agriculture. In order to lure them, some farms keep special fields only for wild boars.