Pig producers have been told to be prepared for the possibility of an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), amid fears the disease could have a significant impact on the sector.
New talks between government and the industry have highlighted how renewed efforts are needed for farmers to adhere to strict biosecurity procedures at all times in case of an outbreak.
Whilst ASF doesn’t affect humans, it is a highly contagious and fatal notifiable disease that is present in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.
Just this week, the disease, which can have mortality rates as high as 100%, was detected on a large pig farm in Moldova, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of pigs.
Closer to the UK, cases have been confirmed among domestic pigs and wild boar populations in Germany and Italy. The disease first entered Europe in 2007.
At the discussions, the National Pig Association (NPA) was told by Defra and Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officials that the UK is better prepared for an outbreak than it was a year ago.
However, pig sector leaders stressed that any outbreak could still have a huge impact on individual businesses and the wider industry.
Over the last year, three supply chain workshops, which have included Defra, APHA and the Food Standards Agency (FSA), have been held looking at the consequences of an ASF outbreak.
The first was a pre-farmgate table-top simulation exercise looking broadly at what would happen on-farm if the disease was suspected and then confirmed.
A second focused on what would happen post-farmgate, particularly at the abattoir, and earlier this month, a third covered transport, feed and haulage and issues like deadstock and rendering.
AHDB senior animal welfare scientist Miranda Poulson, who attended the meeting with Defra and APHA officials, said the discussions were a "major step forward".
“They have all been really productive, but they tend to open more cans of worms than they close, so we are continuing to look for answers to the new questions that keep emerging.”
There were also two producer-facing workshops last year, aimed at encouraging farmers to start putting together a contingency plan for their farm.
“We tried to get across the broad brush of what will happen, but also the idea that there is no fixed battle plan and there never will be, because everything is so case by case and risk-based,” Ms Poulson said.
“It depends on what animal it is detected in first, domestic or feral pig, where it is, how long it might have been in the country, where might it have gone.
"The scale of the restrictions imposed will always depend on those factors. There is not a concrete sequence of events, necessarily.”
If an ASF outbreak did occur, affected units would initially be subject to cleansing and disinfection (C&D) by APHA, the meeting heard.
Farms would then be required to undertake and pay for secondary C&D themselves before they could restock.
NPA senior policy adviser Katie Jarvis explained that there is not yet a full explanation of what that would look like for a pig unit.
However, a specialist group is looking now looking at developing secondary C&D protocols for ASF and classical swine fever for indoor and outdoor units.
“The process will be longer and harder for outdoor units, which is another reason why biosecurity is so important,” Ms Jarvis, who attended the talks, explained.
There was a wider discussion on other aspects of pig production that would be affected by an outbreak, such as pig movements and keeping semen supplies going in the face of restrictions.
The group agreed that that renewed efforts should be taken to urge all pig producers to adhere to strict biosecurity procedures at all times.
The talks follow the pig sector recently warning the government to ensure crucial checks for illegal meat imports were 'properly funded', as ASF can survive in various pork products, such as ham, sausages or bacon.
