Shocking new figures have emerged about the volumes of product of animal origin (POAO) being seized at Dover, including pork from African swine fever-affected areas.
During the weekend of 6-7 December alone, more than 6 tonnes of illegal meat was seized by Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) during a 14-hour period.
This included pork from African swine fever-affected areas in Romania, which has seen the worst ASF outbreak of all European nations.
The National Pig Association (NPA) said the pig sector and wider farming community would be 'deeply concerned' by the latest revelations.
The body reiterated calls for the government to ensure crucial checks for illegal meat imports were 'properly funded'.
A year ago, it emerged that, despite stretched resources, DPHA had seized 57 tonnes of illegal meat since the introduction of new ASF controls in September 2022.
But over the past 12 months, that figure has soared to more than 147 tonnes.
This is despite DPHA staff only providing 20% operational coverage at the Port of Dover due to budgetary pressures.
The NPA said this highlighted that the headline figure 'represents just the tip of the iceberg'.
The association's chief executive, Lizzie Wilson warned that the disease posed a 'huge threat' to the UK's domestic pig sector.
"The fact that so much illegal product, much of it from parts of Europe with serious ASF problems, is a massive concern," she said.
"It is not just pork - DPHA is finding illegal products from all farm species, which not only threatens the health of our national livestock, but also poses a very real human health risk."
As ASF has spread across Europe in recent years, Romania has been the worst-affected country, with 537 outbreaks recorded in domestic pigs in 2023.
With continued cases this year, the whole country has been under restriction and pork exports prohibited from infected areas.
A total of fourteen European countries reported domestic ASF outbreaks last year, and eighteen reported cases in wild boar.
The disease has also caused problems in other parts of Europe this year, including areas where it had not previously been present, most notably northern Italy.
Ms Wilson concluded: "We know so much more is getting through our ports than is being intercepted, and we urge the government to rapidly come up with the funding they need before it is too late.
"The full cost of a notifiable disease outbreak, especially Foot and Mouth Disease for example, will far outweigh this modest additional funding many, many times over.”
