African swine fever bans berry picking in Virolahti

Residents in a restricted zone in Virolahti can no longer enter the forest to pick berries, gather mushrooms or walk off-road after African swine fever was found in wild boar, Yle reports. The Finnish Food Authority has imposed wide-ranging restrictions in southeastern Finland.

Vappu Kuokka’s daily life changed last Thursday when dead wild boar were found just over two kilometres from her home and confirmed to have African swine fever.

In the core zone, people may travel only on roads. Dogs may be walked only on roads and must be kept on a lead. Forestry work, berry picking, mushroom gathering and all other off-road movement are banned.

“Moving around as a family and walking the dogs is now more difficult,” said Kuokka, who lives in the core zone.

Her family has been used to heading straight from their front door into the forest. This week, Kuokka had planned to pick berries, but said it was upsetting to leave them in the forest. The family has also had to find new routes for walking the dogs to prevent the hot asphalt from burning their paws.

African swine fever is a very serious disease affecting pigs and related animals. There is no vaccine or treatment, and infected pigs die from the disease.

Restrictions may last more than a year

The restrictions may remain in place for a long time in the border region between Kymenlaakso and South Karelia. The Finnish Food Authority says the virus is highly persistent and can survive in soil for six months and in the carcasses of dead pigs for several months.

Under the authority’s operating guidelines, lifting the restrictions can generally be proposed only after at least 12 months have passed since African swine fever was last detected in a wild boar in the area.

Swedish authorities stopped the spread of African swine fever after the disease was found in wild boar in Fagersta in 2023. Sweden was again considered free of the disease in 2024.

The restrictions cover a wide area to prevent the disease from spreading, for example if an infected animal is frightened by a loud noise or a dog being walked. The size of the zone and the restrictions may be changed once authorities determine how widely the disease has spread among wild boar, said Terhi Laaksonen, head of the Finnish Food Authority’s department for animal health and welfare.

Wild boar hunting in the infection zone can begin only after dead wild boar have been searched for and collected and samples have been sent for testing, Laaksonen said.

Residents support the restrictions

Kuokka has lived at her current home in the core zone for 20 years. Her dogs have always been allowed to roam freely with the family in the forest.

Despite the changes to daily life, she supports the restrictions and hopes residents will follow them so the situation can be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Esko Kolman, who has seen a herd of 11 wild boar from his window, rarely picks berries or spends time in the forest, so the restrictions have not greatly changed his routine. The news about African swine fever nevertheless came as a shock.

Both Kuokka and Kolman said they trusted local residents to respect the strict rules in the core zone.