Member of Parliament of the Homeland Movement, Stipo Mlinarić, stated at a press conference in the Croatian Parliament on September 24, 2025, that African swine fever (ASF) first appeared in Jagodnjak.
Speaking about the so-called “čvarak revolution,” Mlinarić said:
“African swine fever first appeared in Jagodnjak, a village I have known for 30 years, where the first Chetnik rebellion took place.” (available here at 2:27)
In his statement, Mlinarić claims that African swine fever, an extremely dangerous disease with a high mortality rate in pigs, began spreading across Croatia from the settlement of Jagodnjak in Baranja. The statement was made in a context linking the spread of the disease to interethnic divisions, which could contribute to escalating tensions in the community and underscores the importance of accurate information on this topic. However, the claim is not based on facts, as ASF in Croatia was confirmed before it appeared in Jagodnjak.
African swine fever was first reported in Croatia on June 26, 2023, when the Croatian Veterinary Institute confirmed ASF in blood samples from sick pigs and organ samples from deceased pigs collected from two facilities in Posavski Podgajci, Vukovar-Srijem County (available here, archived here).
This was only the beginning of the spread of ASF in Croatia, and before its appearance in Jagodnjak, its spread was extensively documented in the media. After Posavski Podgajci, ASF was detected in Gunja, Rajevo Selo, and Privlaka on June 27, 2023, at three farms with a total of 169 pigs (available here, archived here).
By July 3, 2023, the Croatian Veterinary Institute identified new ASF cases in the municipality of Drenovci, with the number of euthanized pigs already reaching 301. The Ministry of Agriculture also provided additional urgent assistance to farmers in the affected area, with 568 farms receiving funds for disinfection and equipment to create disinfection barriers (available here, archived here). New cases were discovered the following day, July 4, 2023, with eight additional cases in Gunja, Privlaka, Rajevo Selo, Posavski Podgajci, and Drenovci, as well as a new outbreak on a farm in Babina Greda (available here, archived here).
On July 5, 2023, the first case of ASF in a wild boar was recorded in the Gunja area. All ASF cases on farms at that time were recorded in Vukovar-Srijem County (available here, archived here).
By July 7, 2023, the first case of the disease was confirmed in Brod-Posavina County, in the municipality of Sikirevci (available here, archived here).
New spread was detected on October 12, 2023, when the ASF virus was confirmed on three family farms in the municipality of Semeljci, resulting in the euthanasia of 60 pigs (available here, archived here).
From October 2023 to July 2024, no new ASF cases were reported or confirmed in Croatia, until July 12, when a case was confirmed in Gradište (available here, archived here), followed by another on July 30, 2024, in Retkovci in the municipality of Ivankovo (available here, archived here).
In 2025, ASF was again confirmed in eastern Croatia, specifically in the municipality of Nijemci, Vukovar-Srijem County. Even considering only 2025, ASF did not first appear in Jagodnjak. This is confirmed by information from the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food. On February 18, the disease was reported on a farm with 97 pigs (available here, archived here).
On July 3, 2025, ASF was again detected in the municipalities of Gradište, Štitar, and in the settlement of Komletinci in the area of the city of Otok (available here, archived here).
It was only after all these ASF cases, since the first appearance on June 26, 2023, that the disease was detected in Jagodnjak on July 11, 2025 (available here, archived here).
Therefore, it is incorrect to claim that African swine fever first appeared, either ever or this year, in the municipality of Jagodnjak in Croatia. The truth is that Jagodnjak is just one of many affected municipalities in Croatia facing a swine fever outbreak, which continues to be a significant health and economic challenge for the country, farmers, and relevant state authorities.
Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission, nor the positions of the Agency for Electronic Media. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission, nor the Agency for Electronic Media can be held responsible for them.
This post is also available in: Hrvatski
