Outbreak Of An Unknown Disease: Pigs Are Being Culled On A Mass Scale In Russia

• 12.08.2026, 15:18

The authorities are refusing to name the disease.

In the Tyumen Region, authorities have begun seizing and culling pigs from private farms, according to 72.ru. Authorities attribute the measures to an outbreak of a “particularly dangerous disease,” but the regional veterinary office refused to disclose its name, stating that this information is “restricted.” Local residents believe the disease in question is African swine fever. It is not dangerous to humans, but there is no effective vaccine or treatment for animals, so during an outbreak, the entire livestock population in the at-risk zone is culled.

The most challenging situation is in the Golyshmanovsky District, where sanitary checkpoints have been set up. There, people in white coveralls and masks are disinfecting vehicles, while police officers are enforcing the ban on the transport of pork. The first cases of the disease were detected in the village of Skarednaya in early August. The town of Golyshmanovo and the villages of Abatskoye, Omutinskoye, and others have also been placed under control. According to local residents, pigs are being seized en masse for culling, and those who refuse to hand them over face fines of 30,000–35,000 rubles. Owners are promised compensation, but the exact amounts have not been specified. In their comments, residents mention a figure of 90–95 rubles per kilogram.

According to the villagers, there are virtually no jobs in the Golyshmanovsky District, home to just over 23,000 people, so almost everyone has to run a farm. Because of the pig seizures, people are left without a means of livelihood. “It’s my last source of income. I have nothing else to live on,” said Vladimir Buzin, from whom 22 pigs were confiscated.

According to farmer Larisa Alekseeva, raising a single piglet “takes a lot of effort and money, because the animals need good nutrition and vitamins.” “Medicines are extremely expensive right now. No one takes these factors into account. We weren’t told what the specific compensation will be or what we, the residents, can expect overall,” she noted.

Denis Kazarinov was also told nothing about the amount of compensation. “My wife is still in tears because they seized the animals just like that. She looks at the barn door where they were kept—and she starts crying. ‘Live however you want,’” he concluded.

This year, livestock were culled on a massive scale in other regions as well. The largest protests against the seizure of livestock took place in the Novosibirsk Region. Officially, no reasons were given for the culling, but later tests on a cow belonging to one of the local farmers showed that it was foot-and-mouth disease.