Danes to fence German border to stop boars with swine fever

Denmark is to erect a 70-kilometer (43.4-mile) fence along the German border to keep out wild boars, in the hope of preventing the spread of African swine fever, which can jeopardize the country’s valuable pork industry. Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it had approved the outline for the steel fence, which will be up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall. Construction is slated to start next year.Lawmakers approved the fence in June, among a raft of measures aimed at stopping the spread of African swine fever, which has been reported in the European Union, chiefly in the Baltics, Poland and Romania.Critics say the 30 million kroner ($4.5 million) fence will harm wildlife and is a symbolic gesture tackling a largely non-existent problem.The fence would be out up in such a manner that “people and transportation could still be able to cross in accordance with (the EU’s border-free) Schengen zone, said Bent Rasmussen, of Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency.He also conceded that wild animals could, in theory, pass through 15 gaps in the fence where it crosses highways, roads and streams.