Az afrikai sertéspestis gazdasági hatásai Észak-Kelet Pest és Nógrád megye vadgazdálkodására, különös tekintettel a klasszikus sertéspestissel kapcsolatos korábbi tapasztalatokra

Abstract

SUMMARY Background: In this paper the authors show the impact of African swine fever outbreaks on the management of the Hungarian hunting associations through case studies. African swine fever (ASF) was detected in wild boars in North-East Hungary in 2018. This situation has brought about significant changes in wild-life management in the affected areas. The game management is also severely affected by the restrictions and additional costs of the control measures, as well as the unfavourable changes of market conditions for wild boar meat. Objectives: The purpose of this research is to study the effects of African swine fever cases and the preventive and control measures on the management of hunting associations in Nógrád and Pest counties. Materials and Methods: The authors personally interviewed the managers of two hunting associations affected by the ASF control measures, one from Nógrád county and the other one from the north-eastern part of Pest county, considering their current game management practices and their plans. The pre-vailing market prices for wild boar meat in the ASF affected and high risk areas, and the low risk areas were also presented. The authors also collected the state compensation costs of the earlier classical swine fever (CSF) outbreaks between 2008 and 2011 in the north-eastern part of Pest county, and it can be stated that they are relatively comparable to the current ones being paid after ASF. Results and Discussion: The control measures against ASF and the state compensation play a significant role in the game management of hunting associations. The authorities can substantially help hunters to overcome the economic difficulties caused by ASF in the game management, thereby ensuring the effective participation of hunters in the eradication program. However, it can also be concluded that the hunting associations themselves can do a lot in their own interest by improving their current game management practices.