Combating tuberculosis in European bison in the Bieszczady Mountains - administrative aspect

Abstract

Tuberculosis in animals is an infectious and contagious disease, caused by acid-fast bacilli of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The disease has been confirmed in Poland in farm and wild animals. Among the latter the largest number of cases was diagnosed in free-ranging European bison in the Bieszczady Mountains. The disease has also been present there since 2013 in the wild boar population. From April 21, 2021, in accordance with EU Regulation 2016/429, tuberculosis in European bison is a disease that is subject to mandatory eradication in all EU Member States. In Poland and in most EU countries where free-ranging European bison herds exist, no strategy has yet been developed to combat tuberculosis outbreaks in this species. To date, in Podkarpackie Voivodship eradication measures of bison tuberculosis have been undertaken in a framework of interdisciplinary cooperation of employees of the State Forests and the Veterinary Inspection, supported by representatives of the sciences. The article presents the legal status and the administrative aspects of the issue, as well as experiences and practical solutions of tuberculosis eradication in free-living European bison herds which have proven themselves in field conditions. The conclusions regarding an eradication strategy and the needs of tuberculosis monitoring are also presented in this article, which, apart from wild bison herds, takes into account other wild animal species and farm cattle from areas and buffer zones of bison herds infected with tuberculosis.