COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark is to erect a 43.4-mile fence along the German border to keep out wild boars, in the hope of preventing the spread of African swine fever, which can jeopardize the country's valuable pork industry.
Denmark's Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it had approved the outline for the fence, which will be up to 5 feet tall. Construction would start next year.
Lawmakers approved the fence in June, among a raft of measures aimed at stopping the spread of African swine fever, which has been reported in the European Union, chiefly in the Baltics, Poland and Romania.
Critics say the $4.5 million fence will harm wildlife and is a symbolic gesture tackling a largely non-existent problem.
Environment minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen warned in June that Denmark's pork exports to non-EU countries — worth $1.6 billion annually — could be affected. Total Danish pork exports were worth about $4.55 billion in 2016.
"In case of an outbreak of African swine fever the export to non EU-countries will shut down," Ellemann-Jensen said.
Unlike swine flu, African swine fever doesn't affect humans but it can be deadly for domestic and wild boars, and cause massive losses for farmers.
According to the European statistical agency Eurostat, there are some 150 million pigs in the EU, far outnumbering cattle and other bovines, the second-largest livestock category with 89 million head.
Eurostat says 40 percent of the EU's pigs are in Spain and Germany, with significant numbers also in France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland.
Denmark, known for its quality bacon, is the only EU country where pigs outnumber people, with 215 pigs to every 100 residents.
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