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C-DRONE GUIDE · 14 AUGUST 2026

African swine fever: thermal drones to spot wild boar and audit pig farm biosecurity

A dead wild boar in a thicket can stay invisible for weeks to a hunter or a field officer — and every day that passes is a day the African swine fever (ASF) virus, extremely persistent in a carcass, stays available to infect another animal. In late 2025, the disease crossed a border France had not been watching quite so closely until then: its appearance in Catalonia revived the alert, even as French territory remains officially disease-free. Two uses of the thermal drone fit into this prevention effort: searching for wild boar carcasses for hunting federations and state agencies, and aerially auditing the anti-contact fencing that outdoor pig farmers have had to maintain since 2021 to prevent any contact with wildlife. Here is how both missions work, what the research shows, the regulatory framework, and the prices charged in 2026.

Published on 14 August 2026, reviewed on 29 August 2026 — regulations in force as of August 2026.

Why vigilance is rising again in France in 2026

France has already lived through an African swine fever episode at its border: between 2018 and 2020, several hundred infected wild boar found on the Belgian side, just a few kilometres from French territory, led to the creation of a "white zone" in the Ardennes — an area where every wild boar was culled to cut the transmission chain before it reached France. As early as February 2019, the national gendarmerie and the ONCFS (now the French Biodiversity Agency, OFB) tested helicopter-based thermal detection there to locate animals and carcasses; carcass searches on the ground already relied on trained dogs and on drones. The strategy worked — France stayed disease-free, and demonstrated it to the European Union.

In late 2025, a new outbreak appeared in Catalonia, Spain — an area the disease had never reached before — with, as of 23 February 2026, 31 recorded outbreaks and 162 positive wild boar around the province of Barcelona. France remains officially free of ASF as this guide is published, but that Spanish outbreak, added to the disease's continued presence in Italy, keeps the country on heightened alert: the ministry in charge of agriculture has deployed a 2024-2026 national action plan built around three pillars — prevention, surveillance and crisis-management preparedness. Finding a wild boar carcass quickly remains, within that effort, a decisive step: the virus can survive for months in a carcass or in meat, and every day without detection is a day another boar, a scavenger or a person could come into contact with a source of contamination.

Thermal drones to spot a feverish boar or its carcass

The onboard thermal camera serves two distinct purposes here, both documented by recent veterinary research. The first targets the live animal: fever is one of the earliest clinical signs of ASF, appearing before the animal shows any weakness visible to the naked eye. A study by Wójcicka, Żakowska, Głowacka, Adamczyk and Niemcewicz published in 2026 in the Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences assessed a system of thermal-camera drones designed to spot, in the natural environment, wild boar with an elevated body temperature — tested across two Polish provinces, it confirms the ability of a thermal flyover to detect this early signal in a free-ranging animal (see the study on Google Scholar).

The second use targets the carcass: during decomposition, microbial activity and the development of fly larvae release measurable heat, even several days after the animal's death. A study by Rietz, van Beeck Calkoen, Ferry, Schlüter, Wehner, Schindlatz, Lackner, von Hoermann, Conraths, Müller and Heurich published in 2023 in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases analysed 379 drone thermal flyovers of 42 wild boar carcasses at different stages of decomposition: detection probability proved markedly higher in open meadow than under forest cover, where the canopy masks part of the thermal signal (see the study on Google Scholar). That finding echoes a lesson already drawn for other aerial-thermal uses described in our guide on nocturnal wildlife counting with thermal drones: open ground remains, almost systematically, more favourable than dense forest cover. In practice, the drone does not replace dogs trained to search for carcasses, which remain more effective at close range and in thick undergrowth; it complements their work by quickly covering large open areas or forest edges, then directing a canine team toward the most likely sectors.

A second use: aerial fencing audits on outdoor pig farms

The order of 16 October 2018 on biosecurity measures applicable to premises keeping swine has required, since 1 January 2021, that any outdoor range hosting pigs be protected by fencing preventing any direct contact with a wild boar — the most documented route of contamination between wildlife and domestic livestock. On an outdoor farm, that fence line can run for several hundred metres, sometimes several kilometres, along a wood edge or an embankment — sections that are hard to reach on foot, where a breach caused by a fallen tree, ground subsidence or the repeated passage of the same animal can stay invisible for weeks during a routine walk-round.

An aerial photo survey of the whole fence line, similar in principle to what we describe for an industrial-site perimeter fence audit, spots sagging sections, vegetation weakening the wire, or digging at the base of the fence in a matter of minutes — a frequent sign of a wild boar rooting to test the boundary. We found no text specifically mandating a drone check; the order sets an obligation of result (preventing contact), not a particular inspection method. The logic nonetheless mirrors what we already describe for the poultry sector facing avian influenza in our guide on poultry biosecurity by drone: documenting the state of a physical barrier without anyone having to walk every metre of it, and having a dated report to show a sanitary vet or during an inspection by the departmental authority in charge of population protection (DDPP).

Flight framework and 2026 pricing

A fence audit on a farm takes place in the open category, in a rural area generally free of third parties — checking the Géoportail restricted-zone map remains standard practice. A carcass search, by contrast, is most often coordinated with the departmental hunting federation, the OFB or the DDPP rather than commissioned directly by a private individual: within a surveillance zone or an infected zone defined by prefectural order, access and flights can be governed by the crisis-management arrangements in force for that sector. Some search windows favour a flight early in the morning or late in the day, when the temperature gap with the ground is clearest; a night flight remains possible but requires specific training and authorisation, as for any nocturnal mission.

Ranges observed in France in 2026 (excl. VAT):

Set against the cost of a sanitary herd cull or a regulated zone imposed on an entire sector, both missions remain modest expenses. This service draws on our agricultural drone offer: request a quote stating the type of mission (carcass search or fence audit), the area or fence length involved, and, where relevant, your hunting federation or DDPP contact.

Frequently asked questions

Does the drone replace dogs trained to search for carcasses?

No: the two tools are complementary. The thermal drone quickly covers large open areas or forest edges to guide the search; the dog remains more effective in dense undergrowth and for confirming, at close range, a signal spotted from the air.

Can a farmer commission the fence audit directly, without going through the DDPP?

Yes: auditing one's own fence remains something the farmer can commission directly, like any other drone service on their farm. Searching for carcasses within a surveillance zone, by contrast, is most often organised with the hunting federation or the OFB, as part of the sector's crisis-management arrangements.

What should be done if the drone spots a suspicious carcass?

Never approach or handle it: report it immediately to the hunting federation, the OFB or the DDPP, who will organise sampling and removal under the applicable sanitary protocol. Handling by an unauthorised person is discouraged and could itself help spread the virus.

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