The occurrence of African swine fever near the border and in the population of wild animals is proof that the veterinary system of Montenegro did its best to prevent the occurrence of this disease, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFW) announced.
Assistant Director of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) and regional director of the organization for Europe, Budimir Plavšić, as part of a working visit to Montenegro, met with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Vladimir Joković, and the Director of the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs, Vladimir Đakovic.
The Ministry said that Plavšić was in Montenegro as part of an expert mission organized by WOAH in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations (FAO) through the "GF TADs" mechanism to help Montenegro.
As they stated, the mission was organized after receiving information about the first cases of African swine fever in the wild boar population.
In addition to African swine fever, the meeting also discussed the previous cooperation between WOAH and Montenegro through the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, and the possibilities of new cooperation were discussed.
Joković pointed out that WOAH's cooperation with Montenegro is very important, both through the fight against animal diseases and the impact on public health, and through the importance of placing our products on the European and world markets, as well as facilitating the transport of goods and live animals.
Plavšić, as stated, praised the good cooperation of WOAH with the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs through a series of projects that the Administration implemented in cooperation with that organization.
He pointed out that Montenegro's participation in international activities supported by WOAH and FAO is significant.
The announcement states that the new information system, as well as Montenegro's rabies-free status, monitoring the movement of animal diseases and the effective fight against them, show that Montenegro has made significant progress in that area.
"The very appearance of African swine fever near the border and in the population of wild animals is proof that the veterinary system of Montenegro did its best to prevent the appearance of this disease," the announcement states.
Đaković thanked Plavšić for his extremely quick reaction and sending an expert mission to Montenegro, stating that this is proof that Montenegro has a reliable partner in the WOAH organization.
The Ministry said that Joković, Plavšić and Đaković agreed that they would preserve good cooperation, but also work on its improvement.
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