The Cinta Senese piglet is at risk of extinction due to swine fever
The first cases detected in Tuscany led to the culling of 300 animals, 10 per cent of the total herd. Free-range farming exposes the animals to infection
Key points
The Cinta Senese piglet is at risk of extinction due to African swine fever. The alarm has been raised by the Consortium for the Protection of Cinta Senese PDO itself, following the first culls of animals carried out in recent days. The first outbreak on a Tuscan farm was identified in Comano, in the province of Massa-Carrara, whilst in recent days two pigs found dead on a farm in San Marcello Piteglio, in the province of Pistoia, tested positive for the virus.
10 per cent of the total herd of 3,000 head has been culled
Over the past few days, around 300 head of livestock have been culled – approximately 10 per cent of a herd totalling around 3,000 head.
The Cinta Senese pig is reared mainly in the wild or semi-wild conditions – a key factor in the quality of its meat, but one which leaves the animals particularly vulnerable to infection, the main carrier of which is the wild boar.
DOP Consortium: we are facing a real danger
“We are facing a real danger,” commented the president of the Cinta Senese PDO Consortium, Nicolò Savigni. “Farmers have stepped up their internal biosecurity measures, partly thanks to the grants they have received, but outside their farm boundaries the risk remains beyond their control. They cannot be left to fend for themselves: every Cinta Senese farm must be regarded as a stronghold to be defended.”
Calls for concrete action from the institutions and the Commissioner
The Consortium for the Protection of Cinta Senese PDO therefore calls on the Region of Tuscany, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, and the Special Commissioner for African Swine Fever to take concrete and immediate action to protect the Cinta Senese PDO system, which involves 79 farmers, 6 abattoirs and 18 processing companies, with an indicative economic value of 5.5 million euros.
