Illegal pork imports spark African swine fever concerns
Authorities at the Port of Dover have seized 57 tonnes of illegally imported pigmeat since September 2022.
The National Pig Association (NPA) has called on the Government to do more to crack down on illegal pigmeat imports, following reports of the large amount arriving at the Port of Dover.
With African swine fever continuing to spread in Europe, the NPA fears that the disease could be brought into the UK via infected meat.
Rules preventing travellers from the EU bringing in pork products weighing more than 2kg unless produced to EU commercial standards were introduced in September 2022 to protect pigs in the UK from ASF. Since then, the Dover Port Health Authority has seized 57 tonnes of illegally imported pigmeat.
The figure includes 5.5 tonnes seized during the weekend before Christmas.
However, the port authorities have warned the true amount of illegally imported meat might be even higher, with significant quantities believed to be entering the UK undetected.
In response, the NPA has called for the restrictions on non-commercial pork imports to be extended to cover imports weighing less than 2kg.
The industry organisation also wants the Government to make sure that the necessary resources are made available for border checks and not to delay any further the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model, which will introduce additional post-Brexit checks on food and animal products.
Lizzie Wilson, NPA chief executive, said: “The most worrying aspect of all this is the assumption that the meat being seized at Dover represents only the tip of the iceberg. It is, sadly, inevitable that lots of this illegally imported meat is getting into the country, some of which could well be infected with ASF.
“We understand, anecdotally, that due to the cost-of-living crisis, there is a growing black market for meat in this country, which will be driving the demand for illegally imported meat for both domestic and commercial use.
“As we know from the regular emergence of ASF in new areas across Europe, often attributed to human spread, it will only take one incident of a piece of infected meat reaching a pig to bring the entire pig industry to its knees.”
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Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
