The pigs are housed at the "Plemzavod Zavolzhskoye" company and a further 90,000 pigs at the breeding complex could also be destroyed.

In a press conference on Friday, 27 July, the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision of Russia, Rosselkhoznador, Sergei Dankvert, said that back in 2011 an extremely difficult situation with African swine fever had developed in Tver Region.

He said that the region had been destroyed by the system of biological waste disposal.

"The body of a pig was discarded from a farm into the countryside and wild boars were infected, and then it went back and forwards along the chain: from pigs to wild boar, wild boar from the back to pig house. To date, almost all of the area is at risk," he said.

Deputy Head of Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision of Russia Nikolai Vlasov said that African swine fever had found its way into CJSC "Plemzavod Zavolzhskoye" and now threatens the complex.

With 33,000 pigs, it is the largest centre for ASF infection in Russia. All pigs will be killed by a bloodless method, and then burned.

The site, which will burn the pigs will be decided by the Kalinin district administration, in whose territory the breeding plant is situated.

The complex that has been infected is away from the production unit, which has not been infected.

Those pigs not infected will be moved to a quarantine area.

According to Nikolai Vlasov, the production complex that housed the 33,000 pigs will probably be destroyed.

He said: "The production unit is very old and does not comply with precautionary measures."

Sergei Dankvert said: "The owner would not have wanted to destroy the pigs, but it is necessary to destroy livestock. The company will suffer serious losses. Now comes the question of maintaining the entire population breeding plant, which is still 90,000 pigs, but the prospect that everything will have to be destroyed has not been ruled out."

Sergei Dankvert also said despite the fact that the region has a problem with swine flu for a long time, the breeding plant was not ready for what happened.

"When we arrived to check, everyone ran around like scalded chickens and did nothing, did not know what to do," he said.

ASF, according to federal veterinarians, it is a problem throughout the economy of the region and Russia as a whole.

Over the past 15 years, Russia had managed to raise the standards in the livestock industry, but now it is in grave danger, Mr Dankvert said.

He added that foreign countries are already sounding the alarm, because the ASF spreads very easily and, for example, can move from continent to continent through exportable grain.

The conference heard that at the other large enterprises in the region - such as the "Dmitrogorskoe" meat-packing plant - everything is in order, and the company has found a way to keep out of trouble.

Mr Dankvert said that a sanitary zone had been formed around the meat plant.

He also sent out an assurance that meat contaminated with African Swine Fever will not find its way onto the store shelves.

The Governor of Tver Region Andrew Shevelev said: "I am grateful to Sergei Dankvert for understanding the situation. The government of Tver region has now included all the mechanisms to control ASF.

"However, I believe that effective results can be achieved only when there is a joint effort and verified the consistency between federal, regional and municipal authorities."