New pork limits in the UK are ‘hugely positive step’ in preventing ASF

Defra recently published new regulations for the entry of pork meat into the UK in response to the increased danger that African swine fever (ASF) poses. The control will make it more challenging to import pig and pork-related goods into Britain from EU and EFTA states.
It will no longer be permitted to import pig or pork products weighing more than two kilogrammes unless they are prepared per EU commercial standards as of 1 September. Commercial imports are exempt from this since they are still subject to the control.
The AHDB declared that it supported the action because it was a significant step in the UK’s attempts to keep ASF out of the nation.
The levy board further stated that it was a recognition of the disease’s substantial threat to pig health and the effects it would have on the UK export market.
As the organisation that represents farmers and processors, AHDB has collaborated with the government, the National Pig Association (NPA), and other organisations in the industry to increase public awareness of ASF.
If an ASF outbreak were to spread to the UK, Mandy Nevel, the AHDB’s head of animal welfare, predicted “massive disruption” to domestic and export trade.
She said, “This new legislation is a hugely positive step in our bid to keep the disease out and a reminder to us all to stay vigilant. We support the NPA’s activity in working with the government to encourage the introduction of new regulations to restrict the import of pork meat into the UK and implement biosecurity at our borders. But we also need to remember that there are other borders such as those around pig farms where biosecurity measures must be followed.”
Senior policy adviser Rebecca Veale of the NPA praised the announcement: “We are very pleased that the government has understood the risk African swine fever poses to our national pig herd. Notifiable diseases such as ASF not only compromise the health and welfare of the pigs and potentially devastate businesses up and down the country, but an outbreak would also have huge implications for our ability to trade.”
Given the recent outbreaks in Italy and Germany, which have been connected to human travel, she claimed that the risk of ASF had “never been so great.”