Selwyn Times: September 19, 2018

2
SELWYN TIMES [Edition datE]
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Wednesday September 19 2018 29
SELWYN RURAL LIFE
Pork industry seeks more
stringent border controls
New Zealand Pork is calling for greater border protection against the
spread of African swine fever (ASF), a deadly pig disease sweeping
through China and Eastern Europe.
New outbreaks of the disease, which has
no effective treatment or vaccine, have
been reported recently in China – home to
half of the world’s population of pigs. The
disease has also been expanding through
Eastern Europe since 2014, where it first
spread from Lithuania to Poland and
Estonia. New outbreaks this year have been
reported in Russia, Romania and Hungary.
A 10th EU country – Bulgaria – has
reported the disease this month. Officials
in Denmark, one of Europe’s leading pork
exporters, have expressed concern that it is
“only a matter of time” before ASF reaches
their country.
While the disease presents no risk to
humans, it is devastating to local pig
populations and the commercial industry.
Often fatal in pigs, once the disease is
detected, entire herds need to be culled
to prevent further spread of the infection.
African swine fever can also be passed on
through infected meat – it can survive for
years in frozen carcases – and spread from
clothing, boots and soil.
NZ Pork chair Eric Roy says the industry
is asking for the Government to step up
surveillance of the spread of the disease
and consider more stringent controls of
pork imported from affected countries.
“New Zealand imports considerable
quantities of pigmeat from the EU where
the disease continues to spread,” Mr Roy
says.
“With the way the disease spreads, we
are particularly concerned about the risk
of African swine fever arriving in this
country through infected meat from many
of the regions which currently export pig
meat products to New Zealand.
“This would have a potentially
devastating effect on the local commercial
industry, which generates over $750
million per year for the local economy.”
Almost 60 per cent of pork consumed
in New Zealand is imported from over
25 countries around the world, including
China, Poland and Estonia, as well as
Denmark and Spain. So far in 2018, almost
53,000 kilograms of pork products were
imported to New Zealand from China,
including a small amount classified as
dried product – of particular concern as
the ASF virus in these products might
not have been inactivated through the
treatment process.
“The major risk to our industry is that
infected meat gets into the lifestyle or
para-commercial pig population through
the feeding of uncooked food scraps, a
practice that is banned but can still occur
when hobby farmers are unaware of the
risks. Our wild population could also come
into contact with food waste, which is a
major problem in Europe.”
At least one outbreak in Europe was
traced to sausage meat left behind after a
roadside picnic.
“This sort of occurrence is completely
outside the control of our farmers, and
yet an African swine fever outbreak could
potentially wipe out our local industry, if it
was to spread from the hobby farm or feral
pig population,” Mr Roy says.
The vast majority of official notifications
of ASF being made to the World
Organisation for Animal Health by
countries involved in the current outbreak
of the disease in Eastern Europe declare
the source of the outbreak to be ‘unknown
or inconclusive’.
“This is particularly important given that
New Zealand is trading pork with the EU
sector under virtually identical rules that
apply to inter-EU trade – standards which
have done nothing to stop the continuing
spread of the disease through Europe,” Mr
Roy says.
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