Brussels redraws African swine fever zones after new wild boar outbreaks

The European Commission has redrawn the European Union’s map of African swine fever restricted zones after new outbreaks in wild boar in Germany, Italy and Poland, replacing Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594 with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2371. The regulation was adopted in Brussels on 22 October 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ L, 23 October 2026, 2026/2371). It enters into force on 24 October 2026, the day following publication.

The measure rests on Article 71(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, the Animal Health Law, and amends the special disease control measures that Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594 applies for a limited period to the Member States and areas listed in its Annexes I and II. Annex I is the Union-level list of restricted zones I, II and III established after outbreaks of African swine fever. The annex had last been amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2220 of 1 October 2026, following changes in the epidemiological situation in Hungary and Poland.

In its recitals the Commission recalls that African swine fever is an infectious viral disease affecting kept and wild porcine animals that can severely hit animal populations and the profitability of farming, and that it disturbs movements of consignments of those animals and their products within the Union as well as exports to third countries. It also invokes the urgency of the epidemiological situation to justify the amendments taking effect as soon as possible. The text carries EEA relevance and was adopted after the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.

New outbreaks push three countries up a tier

Since the adoption of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2220, Germany, Italy and Poland have notified the Commission of new outbreaks of African swine fever in wild porcine animals. The response is a tightening of the listing:

• Germany: an outbreak in a wild boar detected in October 2026 in the State of Brandenburg, inside an area listed as restricted zone I, raises the risk level; that area becomes restricted zone II and the boundaries of zones I and II are redefined.
• Italy: an outbreak in a wild boar detected in October 2026 in the Tuscany region, inside a restricted zone III but close to a zone I area, leads to that zone I area being listed as zone II, with the boundaries of zones III, II and I redrawn.
• Poland: two outbreaks in wild porcine animals detected in October 2026 in the Łódzkie, Podkarpackie and Zachodniopomorskie regions, in zone II areas close to zone I areas, mean the affected zone I areas are now listed as zone II, with new boundaries for zones I and II.

Downgrades and delistings where the disease has cleared

The same regulation rewards Member States whose control measures, applied under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 and aligned with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, have held:

• Czechia: an area in the Liberec region is delisted from Annex I after twelve months without outbreaks in kept and wild porcine animals.
• Italy: certain areas in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont are delisted from zone I, while other areas in the same three regions move from zone II down to zone I, again after twelve months without outbreaks.
• Poland: part of the Zachodniopomorskie and Lubuskie regions moves from zone III to zone II after three months without outbreaks in kept porcine animals, although the disease is still present in wild boar; areas in Dolnośląskie and Śląskie are delisted from zone I; and areas in Opolskie move from zone II to zone I.

A single replaced annex covering the whole Union

Article 1 of the regulation does not patch the list line by line: it replaces Annex I in its entirety with the text set out in the annex to the regulation, an 81-page catalogue of restricted zones I, II and III. The new list covers zones in several Member States, among them Finland, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, with boundaries defined down to municipality, district and, in some cases, road and railway level. The Commission states that, given how dynamic the situation is, the epidemiological situation in areas surrounding the new outbreaks was also taken into account when demarcating the zones.

The practical effect is that the zoning determines which control measures apply in each area and therefore conditions the movement of live pigs, consignments of porcine products and exports to third countries from the affected territories.

Why it matters

For the EU pig sector, the regulation is a double-edged decision published with immediate effect: stricter zone II listings in Brandenburg, Tuscany and three Polish regions will constrain operators there from 24 October 2026, while producers in Liberec, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Dolnośląskie, Śląskie and Opolskie regain room to move animals and goods. Because the annex is replaced wholesale, operators and national veterinary authorities must work from the new consolidated list rather than from the previous version.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 23 October 2026, 2026/2371 (official reference: 2026/2371).