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On December 11, 2025, the European edition of Nieuwe Oogst announced plans of the autonomous region of Catalonia in Spain to reduce the number of wild boars by 37% due to the ASF outbreak.

Currently, the average population density of wild boars in Catalonia is 6.3 head per square kilometer, while in some areas it reaches 15 head per square kilometer. The regional authorities intend to reduce this figure to 4 head per square kilometer.

For a long time, the approach based on the priority of conservation of wild boar populations, which were considered primarily as an element of biodiversity, prevailed in the countries of the European Union. Consequently, their numbers grew substantially, fuelling the active spread of ASF in wildlife and heightening the risk of transmission to domestic swine herds. An additional factor in the spread of ASF in southern EU countries are ticks of the genus Ornithodoros - natural vectors of the ASF virus that are widely distributed in southern Europe.

According to scientists from the FGBI "ARRIAH", a high wild boar population density is a key factor enabling the establishment and diffuse spread of ASF. When the virus is in circulation, controlling wild boar numbers may be regarded as a supplementary measure for mitigating disease pressure. At the same time, specialists emphasize that the basis of disease prevention remains a comprehensive approach: timely laboratory monitoring, early virus detection, testing of swine products, and strict adherence to biosafety measures.

In Russia, the control of wild boar populations is part of the disease control measures and is carried out in accordance with veterinary rules. All versions of these rules include provisions for monitoring wildlife, regulating wild boar numbers in infected and at-risk zones, restricting supplemental feeding, and preventing population density growth. Furthermore, in at-risk regions, measures are applied to reduce wild boar numbers and implement hunting management activities.

Annually, as part of federal disease monitoring, approximately 65,000 tests on animal biomaterial for ASF are conducted in Rosselkhoznadzor laboratories. Additionally, since August 2024, 2,300 ticks collected from 30 regions of Russia have been submitted to the FGBI "ARRIAH" laboratory. Ticks of the genus Ornithodoros were not detected among the examined samples.

The Rosselkhoznadzor and its subordinate institutions carry out systematic work to monitor the disease situation, conduct laboratory monitoring, and implement a complex of disease control measures aimed at preventing the introduction and spread of ASF within the territory of Russia.