A decision to grant compensation for 61,200 pigs that were culled due to an outbreak of African swine fever virus (ASFV) will be made after two investigations are carried out, Deputy Head of the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Verzhykhovsky said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

"Depending on the investigation… I'm not ready to speak about compensation," he said.

Verzhykhovsky said that an internal investigation and an investigation by law-enforcement agencies are being conducted and they will establish how ASFV broke out at the complex.

He said that the compensation mechanism for households is very sensitive, and it is hard to take measures to cull pigs, although large businesses must insure their animals.

"I remember only one case in Zaporizhia region when the compensation was from the national budget," he said.

He said that in other cases compensation was paid under the decisions of local authorities.

Measures to stabilize the epizootic situation near Kalita agro-complex are being taken: police checkpoints have been installed, vehicles will move through disinfection barriers, and a ban on imports of pigs and pork products from a three-kilometer zone around the complex has been introduced.

As reported, ASFV was registered at the Kalita agricultural complex in Kyiv region (Kalita village, Brovary district) on July 28.

The African swine fever virus is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in pigs, but persistently infects its natural hosts, warthogs, bushpigs and soft ticks of the Ornithodoros genus, without any visible symptoms. There is currently no vaccine against ASF.