“…A possible explanation for the difficulties associated with removing free‐ranging pigs, is that this is part of the cultural identity of their “owners”, and thus, they refuse to change their habits because this would mean losing their cultural identity (Cappai et al., ; Firinu et al., ; Mannelli et al., ). However, it has become clear to experts, regional authorities and local authorities that these unregistered pigs, living in groups of tens or hundreds, play a very important role in the virus reservoir and may act as a virus‐link between domestic pigs kept in backyards and wild boar populations, where ASF has been found consistently in the last 40 years (Cappai et al., ; Costard et al., ; EFSA, ; Jurado et al., ; Mur et al., ). Free‐ranging pigs share the same habitat as the wild boar, facilitating the spread of the ASF virus and hindering its control (Costard, Mur, Lubroth, Sánchez‐Vizcaíno, & Pfeiffer, ; FAO, ; Fasina et al., ; Iglesias, Rodríguez, Feliziani, Rolesu, & de la Torre, ; Jori et al., ).…”