African swine fever restrictions halt pig slaughterhouse operations

African swine fever restrictions have brought a farm slaughterhouse in Lappeenranta to a complete standstill, Yle reports. The pigs cannot be slaughtered for food or moved outside the infection zone, meaning they cannot currently even be disposed of as waste.

Timo Ikonen, who runs Tilateurastamo Ikonen, said the farm’s 263 pigs were healthy but growing rapidly.

“Our pigs are doing well, but they are soon going to be quite large. The walls are starting to bulge and we will soon run out of space,” Ikonen said.

Ikonen has spent the week applying for new permits for the slaughterhouse and cutting facility so that operations can continue inside the infection zone. The company previously held the required facility permit, but it had to apply for it again.

Additional exemptions are needed to move the pigs to the slaughterhouse next to the piggery.

“We are talking about perhaps one metre. And a permit is needed for that,” Ikonen said with a laugh.

Grain purchases also disrupted

Nearby, farmer Kimmo Turunen is harvesting fields both inside and outside the infection zone. After harvesting autumn wheat inside the zone, he must wash and disinfect his combine harvester, tractor and grain trailers before continuing outside it.

Grain sales have also become difficult. Two buyers told Turunen this week that they would not purchase the grain under the current circumstances. A third agreed to buy it if the grain was stored on the farm for 30 days before sale.

The buyer also requires detailed storage records and separate storage for grain from the infection zone. Turunen fears the grain may fetch a lower price than usual.

Turunen has about 60 hectares left to harvest. He hopes the costs caused by the restrictions will not be left for farmers to pay.

Possible compensation for pig farmers

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah said on the A-studio programme that compensation could be possible under certain conditions. She referred to a piggery with 300 pigs inside the infection zone, which is likely Ikonen’s farm slaughterhouse because there are no other similar facilities in the area.

“If pigs cannot be transported out of the area, compensation under the Animal Diseases Act is of course possible. But as a rule, direct compensation relates to a situation where the disease spreads to a production piggery,” Essayah said.

African swine fever has not been found at Ikonen’s farm. The latest test results are expected in the coming days after seven veterinarians took blood samples from the pigs on Monday.

Essayah’s comments about possible compensation offered Ikonen some hope.

“It is an incredible situation that we have been ordered and prevented from doing our work. It would be desirable to receive some kind of compensation for this,” he said.

Essayah said the government was currently focusing all its efforts on preventing the disease from spreading rather than providing direct support. Turunen said he wanted consistent instructions and clarity from the government.

“I hope the government will not make farming any more difficult. If this causes costs, they should be fully compensated,” he said.

Ikonen also called for swift decisions, clarity and more flexibility in the regulations. Essayah is due to visit his farm on Monday.