Imports spark disease fears

THE INCREASING flow of live breeding pigs and semen from mainland Europe to the UK poses a major threat to the industry, according to the National Pig Association.

Although breeding companies undertake rigorous health checks before pigs are imported Blue Ear Disease (PRRS), Porcine Dermatitis and Nephropathy Syndrome (PDNS) and Post-weaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS) are all thought to have entered this country from abroad via live pig contact or in semen.

There are fears that commercial imports of weaners from the Low Countries may also restart once Aujeszky‘s disease is eradicated in Holland by the 2005 target date.

Stephen Curtis of genetics company ACMC is urging producers to support the concept of a cordon sanitaire to try and ring-fence UK herd health.

NPA regional manager, Ian Campbell, said that although he supported this in principle it would no longer be realistic to apply.

It would also be wrong to discriminate against the trade in genetic material from abroad where the risks could be quantified and the benefits judged, he added.

But Classical Swine Fever is still active in some European countries and the NPA is focusing on the threats from what it describes as “insidious new viruses” which may take several years to identify. 

Recent news of a possible PMWS outbreak on a Northern Ireland pig testing station in an area which had previously been free of the disease has also added to concern over the way in which the trade in live pigs and genetic products can pose a further disease hazard.

Although there is no evidence that the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak was initially linked to imported pig meat there are concerns throughout the UK livestock industry that not enough is being done to control the flow of so-called “illegal meat” imports.

Customs and Excise is reportedly deploying more mobile freight x-ray scanners which can detect meat products concealed in shipping containers at the docks. 

But since the May 2001 swill feeding ban, large quantities of waste meat products are now disposed of by landfill with a significant risk of disease spread by vermin and raptors.

The costs of any further major disease outbreaks within the UK pig industry could be crippling at a time when margins are under extreme pressure and slaughter volumes continue to decline.