From the beginning of June environmentalists in the Syunik region have sounded alarm about suspicions of African swine fever among wild boar in the territory of the Shikahogh preserve.

Head of the Syunik regional division of the state environmental inspection of the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection staff Levon Petrosyan says that on June 2 he received a signal from the Shikahogh preserve that a sick wild boar was found in the vicinity of the Srashen community. “We also turned to Kapan’s chief veterinary Artur Khachatryan, he concluded from external symptoms that it is African swine fever. The body was disinfected and buried in a deep hole. A sample was taken from the entrails for an examination,” he said.

As animals are in constant movement, they think that the infection penetrated from Iran to the territories controlled by Karabakh military and from there to the Syunik territory in Armenia.

African swine fever broke out among domestic swine in Armenia last fall and at that time a wholesale slaughter was done. Now in Syunik too the number of domestic swine has sharply decreased. But in the case with wild boars it is not clear as to what preventive measures can be applied. (The disease is believed not be transferable to humans)

About 15 fallen wild boars of registered 135 have been found in the territory of the preserve in the past several months.

“This species of our fauna is in peril, measures must be taken. But we don’t know how to tackle the problem,” says the region’s chief environmentalist. “Maybe hunters should be recruited to do a compulsory slaughter? I don’t know… Now we have informed the regional authorities, the Ministry of Nature Protection, we expect the veterinary service to express the results of its diagnostics, and let them show us direction what to do according to that.”

Petrosyan especially warns hunters and poachers not to hunt wild boars and not to allow such type of meat to enter homes.

Head of the Syunik regional center of the state food safety and veterinary inspection of the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture Edgar Tokhsants said that he is aware of the problem. On June 5 he was to take a sample to Yerevan, to the republican epidemiologic diagnostics center. It is not known when the results of the expert examination will become known.

“Any fall of animal today gives rise to suspicions, and we check,” Tokhsants said, adding that today they have no problem with domestic swine in that territory; there is no infection among them.

The inspection deals with domestic animals and it is not known what should be done for taking measures if the diagnosis of African swine fever is confirmed in Yerevan.

According to Tokhsants, if the diagnosis is confirmed, wild boars are to be slaughtered and buried. “At this moment, we do not take any measures, wild boars are in the forests, and it is dangerous to enter some of the territories of the preserve as they are mined,” he said, informing that generally they have nothing to do with territories but would take action if superior bodies instruct so. “Perhaps it is not African fever but a classical fever. In that case animals are not destroyed.”

State-run Shikahogh preserve director Rubik Mkrtchyan said that since February the infection started from the neighboring liberated territories, in March it reached the territories of “Hayantar”, also the grove of plane-tree reserved area in the territory of the preserve and then the preserve itself. “I was the one who raised noise when in the village of Nerkin Hand (the grove of plane-trees is in this territory) domestic animals were infected first. Animals in the village were destroyed. I invited specialists from the Yerevan veterinary inspection, they came and confirmed that there was African swine fever in Nerkin Hand, I continue to raise noise even now…”