Swine fever paralyzes business in Västmanland – “enormous concern”

There are many question marks and great concern when the municipal management in Norberg tries to review the consequences of the supposed outbreak of swine fever in the region.

– We are sitting with a wrinkle of worry on our foreheads, clearly there are very big challenges ahead of us both in the short and long term, says Christian Foster, municipal manager in Norberg.

The holiday is canceled and the work to close trails and nature reserves is at full speed in the municipality.

– The most urgent thing is to urgently take care of staffing so that we can inform and cancel the events that were planned this weekend and close the type of facilities that we can control. We are a fairly large outdoor municipality and receive many questions from associations, companies and residents, says Christian Foster.

Food ban

But it is the long-term consequences that are the major concern for a municipality like Norberg, where the business world mainly consists of construction and forestry companies.

– A large part of our business life has more or less been subject to business bans as it looks right now. At best for three months, at worst for two years are the messages we received. What then happens to forestry? What happens to the sawmills? This creates enormous concern for those who are affected, but also for us as a municipality, says Christian Foster.

The Swedish Agency for Agriculture is the authority responsible for crisis management and, according to Christian Foster, information from there has been scarce so far.

– What we have learned from the forest fires earlier this year is that the authority that makes decisions must have a close dialogue with the municipalities. This is where the business takes place. It is our residents who cannot leave the plot. It’s a bit surprising that people are starting to realize it now, it was part of the criticism when they evaluated the forest fires that this particular part has to work, says Christian Foster.

Calling for support

The infected zone delineated by the Swedish Agricultural Agency covers an area of ​​100,000 hectares in Västmanland and Dalarna counties and includes, among other things, the towns of Norberg, Fagersta, Ramnäs and Virsbo. It was within the Fagersta municipal border that the infected wild boar was found and that is also where the Swedish Agricultural Agency focused its resources.

– We are not asking for much at the moment, but we need to know what is the municipality’s responsibility and what is not. It is also about practical support in the form of signs and other things. But in the long term, we also want to have a dialogue about how the state can support us in this. These restrictions risk knocking out associations, hotels, restaurants and the business world.

Some self-criticism

Christian Foster thinks that a certain amount of self-criticism can cost both the municipality and the authorities.

– Why haven’t we practiced more on this issue where such large financial values ​​are at stake? Swine fever has been known in Europe for several years and has been confirmed in the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany. We have experienced forest fires and floods, but we have not included this in our risk analyzes and in our crisis preparedness.

– When it comes to crisis preparedness, you are quite well prepared for crises that have been. It is worse with crises to come. They are always of a different character. But having said that, as an individual small municipality with 5,700 inhabitants, we cannot practice scenarios with national preparedness for infection zones. The county administrative board must take responsibility for that, says Christian Foster.