Wild boar trade and African swine fever risk of introduction into new territories: A quantitative release assessment with retrospective data of wild boar shipments to France and Spain (2010-2017)

Wild boar (WB) (Sus scrofa) farming and trade in EU countries consistently developed at the end of the last century, primarily for repopulating hunting estates within the sport hunting industry. Since the introduction of African swine fever (ASF) in the Caucasus in 2007 and its subsequent spread from Eastern to Central Europe, international WB trade increased the risk of ASF introduction into new territories. In order to prevent such events, the EU veterinary authorities decided to ban WB trade in June 2018. In our study, we documented retrospective WB trade movements to France and Spain between 2010 and 2017, and used this data to undertake a quantitative risk assessment for ASF introduction resulting from those shipments. A total of 127 trade events introducing live WB into France (n = 93) and Spain (n = 34) from Eastern EU countries were recorded between 2010 and 2017, encompassing a total of 5567 animals. Hungary was the main exporter to both countries while Poland was the main exporter to France. The highest annual risk of ASF release was related to shipments from Poland to France after 2014 coinciding with an epidemic phase of ASF in that country. During the same period, the risk of ASFV introduction from Hungary to France was much smaller but gradually increased, coinciding with outbreaks in adjacent Ukraine territory during 2015 onward. Despite no outbreaks in France nor Spain were detected to date, quantified values of ASF introduction risk into Western Europe were very high, suggesting that prohibiting international WB trade in 2018 was well justified. Our study highlights the relevance to monitor and supervise more closely legal wildlife production within the EU countries. Our results are an interesting example on how to use trade data to design and implement risk reduction strategies to reduce the spread of pathogens in the wildlife trade sector.