Niedersachsen boosts forest fire safeguards and introduces hunter compensation for African Swine Fever

The Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection announced a ban on open fires and smoking in forests from 1 March to 31 October to curb the risk of wildfires. Minister Miriam Staudte stressed the “shocking scale of forest fires in Europe.” The region is expanding its Automated Forest Fire Early Detection System, adding new camera and sensor sites in Alt Garge and Rosengarten, now covering about 440,000 ha with roughly 20 units. A budget of €450,000 has been allocated for modernisation, and 60 fire‑fighting kits were distributed to fire brigades. A large‑scale crisis exercise LÜKEX is planned for November 2026.

Separately, the state government introduced a compensation scheme for hunters to support preventive actions against African Swine Fever (ASP) in wild boar. The new regulation provides fees such as €150 (or €175 with the WilKEA app) per hunt, €200 for sampling diseased animals, and €30 per dog or per boar in designated risk zones. Applications are processed by the Lower Saxony Agricultural Chamber between 1 January and 31 March. No ASP cases have been reported in the state, and the disease is lethal for pigs but not transmissible to humans.