African swine fever has farmers warning of financial ruin

Five new cases of African swine fever have been confirmed in Osijek-Baranja and Virovitica-Podravina counties, bringing the total number of cases recorded in Croatia this year to 99.

The Croatian Chamber of Agriculture says the latest outbreak is pushing pig farmers to the brink of bankruptcy and is calling for stronger measures to reduce wild boar populations, which continue to contribute to the spread of the disease among domestic pigs.

Among those affected is pig farmer Filip Prša from the village of Kutovi, who was forced to euthanize nearly his entire herd.

"We had 49 pigs. One died, while the remaining 48 were euthanized. It's a major setback because we had built up a strong genetic breeding stock, with our own sows and boars, and had established a successful business. Recovering from this will take a long time," Prša said.

Another farmer, Mato Jurković from Bokšić Lug, said the outbreak had left his family uncertain about the future of their business.

"We'll wait and see how things develop before deciding what to do next. But we're certainly not going to throw ourselves back into it with the same confidence as before. It's still a huge shock for our family and everyone involved," Jurković said.