Could the pig industry survive an African swine fever outbreak?
© Robin Ward/Alamy Stock Photo As the largest animal disease outbreak ever recorded, African swine fever (ASF) poses a real threat to our domestic pig industry. How ready is the UK for a potential incursion? Debbie James reports
The pig industry has for months been sounding alarm bells that cuts to the budget for on-the-spot inspections at the Port of Dover leave the UK highly vulnerable to African swine fever (ASF).
But those warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears in government as, before parliament was dissolved at the start of the general election campaign, there had been no resolution.
See also: How to plan and prepare for African swine fever
The industry’s concerns centre on government plans to reduce by nearly 70% Dover District Council’s funding for ASF spot checks for illegal imports, as well as moving biosecurity checks on legitimate cargoes from the border to a facility 22 miles inland at Sevington.
This has happened despite the fact that ASF has directly and indirectly claimed a quarter of the global pig population, and the disease is inching its way closer to the UK with cases in Sweden, Italy and Germany.
Katie Jarvis, senior policy adviser at the National Pig Association, describes the situation as “hugely concerning”.
“We know that the consignments of illegal meat being seized are just the tip of the iceberg and therefore the work being done by Dover Port Health Authority and Border Force at Dover needs additional funding, not less,” she says.
There is currently no licensed ASF vaccine available in the UK and, since over 40% of the UK breeding herd is outdoor pigs, if the disease does arrive, the challenge to stop it would be immense.
Impacts
Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) president Michael Putt says the greatest impact would be on the welfare of the pigs on affected premises.
But other units could be compromised too, by extensive restrictions on animal movements, and on the movement of feed lorries.
Furthermore, if a case of ASF is confirmed in the UK, international trade would immediately cease.
“These consequences would have a significant impact on the farming community as well as others involved in the industry, such as vets, hauliers, abattoir workers and processors,” says Mr Putt.
Border controls are the single factor that can prevent an outbreak, but these have been described by Scottish Pig Producers chief executive Andy McGowan as “woeful”.
He says it has taken eight years since Brexit to implement proper controls and suggests veterinary certificates required for commercial imports are still not being checked.
Defra disputes this, saying there are strict import controls in place.
It sees preventing an outbreak of ASF as a key biosecurity priority and says it is working closely with Port Health Authorities and the Border Force to enforce these controls.
However, unlike the EU, the UK still permits individuals to bring in up to 2kg of pork products for personal consumption, even though random testing has shown viable ASF within some of the products checked.
Wild boar
The biggest risk in the UK is from wild boar or feral pigs encountering contaminated food.
Indeed, research has shown that the potential for such an animal to spread the disease to an outdoor farm is around 50%, compared with just a 0.2% chance of it moving from one infected pig farm to another.
A feral pig accessing household waste is thought to have resulted in the recent ASF incursion in Sweden. And many in the industry, including Mr Putt, believe the UK is vulnerable too.
“While the UK is an island nation, we know our borders are not tight; there is a substantial movement of pork, both legal and illegal, from and through countries where ASF is present,” he says.
“This, together with capacity issues and loss of memory of notifiable disease control, increases the risk of an ASF incursion in the UK and is of monumental concern to the PVS.”
Restructuring
Since the last major outbreaks of notifiable diseases – foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever over 20 years ago – the pig industry and the veterinary profession have experienced significant changes in structure and capacity.
There are now fewer vets doing pig work as practices have merged or been bought out by corporate companies.
The number of abattoirs has more than halved too, with fewer that slaughter pigs, which has serious consequences during any disease outbreaks, says Mr Putt.
“If an abattoir falls within a restricted zone, it will be more difficult for farmers to get pigs from non-restricted areas slaughtered,” he explains.
Diminishing numbers of farrow-to-finish farms and a greater shift to multi-site production also challenge disease control, as farms have become more reliant on the movement of pigs as they grow.
Loss of memory of notifiable disease control extends to farmers too, says Mr Putt.
Many farms got out of the industry during previous notifiable disease outbreaks and chose not to invest in restocking.
That means there are fewer farmers with experience of what happened during those outbreaks.
Preparing for an ASF incursion
The industry has been working hard to prevent the virus entering the UK, while also planning for an incursion.
Mr Putt says that, while the PVS is unable to prevent illegal imports of infected pork products through ports and airports, it has focused attention on trying to keep those products off pig farms and from coming into contact with pigs.
The society has also been instrumental in upskilling biosecurity on pig farms, through webinars, industry workshops, media articles and conferences, both for vets and for pig producers.
Biosecurity assessments are part of Defra’s Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, too.
For anyone working with pigs, the message is that they must be aware of what an ASF infection looks like, and what to do if they suspect it.
Knowing when to make the call to their vet or Defra is key to reducing disease spread.
To help inform contingency planning, industry organisations have created guidance and advice on how to spot the disease, what actions to take if disease is suspected, and measures to take on farm in the event of infection.
“PVS arranges regular scientific meetings, and ASF prevention and control are always high on the programme,” says Mr Putt. “This is a continual process rather than ‘on-off’.”
Upskilling
PVS, practitioners and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) are also upskilling teams for the blood sampling that would be needed to enable rapid disease eradication and, ultimately, for demonstrating freedom from disease – a vital component in re-instating animal movements and export trade.
There is also training for private vets that would be made available by Apha in the event of an outbreak, so that they can assist.
One of the lessons learned from FMD in 2001 was that quick detection and swift culling of affected herds are essential to contain, then eliminate, disease.
In the case of ASF, the time taken from contact with the virus to a pig exhibiting clinical signs can be a couple of weeks, which means that movement of animals on and off a farm could have taken place before the disease is spotted.
Active surveillance in the event of an outbreak therefore allows earlier detection and reduces the chance of onward spread.
Wild animals pose threat in Scotland
The threat posed by wild boar and feral pigs is felt especially keenly in Scotland, where significant populations are established on the west coast, in the north-west Highlands, and in Dumfries and Galloway.
To understand and mitigate the risk, levy body Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has formed a Feral Pig Working Group, bringing together land management agencies, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, deer management groups, national parks and NatureScot.
“Members of the working group already do a good job of mapping and controlling populations of wild and feral pigs,” says Bruce McConachie, head of industry development at QMS.
“We understand the population dynamics and how they move across the landscape and the damage they can do to ground nesting and rare birds.
“But there is more we can learn when we consider populations through the lens of controlling ASF,” he adds.
Mr McConachie points to the work QMS already does in monitoring both farms and abattoirs for disease.
But he maintains that a collaborative approach will enhance the understanding of feral pig populations and their role in disease transmission.
And by taking proactive measures, he believes it is possible to balance the need to protect Scotland’s pig industry from the threat of ASF, with the “valuable contribution and heritage of wild pigs in our natural environments”.