The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Border fears as swine fever case verified
Aconfirmed case of African swine fever (ASF) just a short distance from the French border has sent shockwaves through Britain’s pig industry and led to renewed calls for proper border checks on imported pigmeat.
The latest case of ASF was found on a pig farm in the south-west of Germany – more than 500km (310 miles) away from other known outbreaks.
Scotland’s farmers’ union (NFUS) has already criticised the UK Government’s intention to postpone border checks on food entering the UK from Europe until the end of 2023 as “utter madness”, and has requested the ASF threat level here should be raised from moderate to high.
NFUS pigs committee chair, Jamie Wyllie, said: “This devastating disease is not in the UK and the government should be doing everything within its powers to keep it out.
“Instead, the UK Government continues to leave pig producers exposed to ASF, a disease that would wipe out our pig production were contaminated pork products to arrive on our shores.”
He said the distance this latest outbreak has travelled from previously known cases suggests it must have been transported.
“It can only have happened through movement of humans, pigs or food rather than wildlife,” he said.
“This case highlights just how easily the disease could enter the UK without proper checks in place.
“Illegal imports of products of animal origin, coming in with travellers or by mail, also presents a risk and we welcome the Scottish Government introducing sniffer dogs trained to detect illegal meat at some of Scotland’s ports, airports and parcel hubs.”
The union has reminded all travellers that even small parcels of meat imported into the UK for personal consumption are not only illegal, but they pose an unacceptably high risk for the industry.
The NFUS has also called on UK retailers to “seriously reconsider” where they source their produce in Europe.