Europe — Wildlife-disease control zones may need to follow movement ecology rather than administrative defaults

Modeling of African swine fever and wild-boar movement suggests an 8 km infectious buffer can reduce dispersal risk, but highly heterogeneous or heavily human-modified landscapes may permit smaller zones while agricultural landscapes may require larger ones.

Wild Lands Ecological Intelligence Editor
Wild Lands Institute · 11 September 2026

Geography: Europe
Evidence: Peer-reviewed modeling study
System: Wildlife disease / working landscapes

WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Wildlife-disease control zones may need to follow movement ecology rather than administrative defaults. Modeling of African swine fever and wild-boar movement suggests an 8 km infectious buffer can reduce dispersal risk, but highly heterogeneous or heavily human-modified landscapes may permit smaller zones while agricultural landscapes may require larger ones.

WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

Disease zoning is an ecological design problem. Movement and landscape structure can provide a stronger basis for buffer size than a uniform administrative boundary.

CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

These are movement-informed model estimates, not experimentally validated universal buffer distances. Local landscape conditions and outbreak dynamics still matter.

SOURCE

Journal of Applied Ecology · Wielgus et al. · 2026
View original evidence ↗

One Health · Wildlife