Calls for action over illegal bushmeat smuggling in UK

Urgent action is being demanded to safeguard British farming and food security following a Countryside Alliance investigation into the smuggling of potentially deadly bushmeat into the UK.

The investigation uncovered widespread illicit smuggling of bushmeat, including species such as lizard, porcupine and African cane rats, being sold via social media.

With recent foot-and-mouth cases in Germany and Hungary, African swine fever spreading across Europe, and the ongoing threat of avian influenza and bluetongue virus in the UK, the agricultural sector is at heightened risk from imported disease.

See also: Foot-and-mouth disease detected in Slovakia

Shadow Defra secretary Victoria Atkins has voiced her concern, pressing the government to address the issue.

“Defra’s own figures predict that African swine fever could cost the UK £100m, and there are concerns from the industry that this could be more and would be catastrophic for the UK pig sector,” she said.

“We already know foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 cost the UK £14.7bn in today’s prices.”

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Smuggling

Bushmeat, which includes meat from wild mammals, reptiles and birds from regions including West and Central Africa, Asia and the Americas, is smuggled into the country without undergoing the necessary health checks required for legal imports.

The Food Standards Agency has advised against buying or consuming bushmeat, warning that it could carry dangerous infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth, anthrax, Ebola, TB or cholera.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, stressed the urgency of the situation.

“The illicit selling of foreign meat, including bushmeat, presents a severe biosecurity threat that could devastate the livestock farming sector and the wider rural economy,” he said.

“With foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever a very real risk, and other diseases like avian flu and bluetongue already affecting livestock throughout the UK, it is crucial that the government takes action now. 

“Farmers are already suffering from the sudden closure of the SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive) scheme, as well as other recent decisions.

“We must safeguard our farmers, who are vital for the UK’s food security.”