Measures introduced to protect UK from African swine fever
Outbreaks have been seen in many European countries.
The UK government has introduced new measures to protect the UK from African swine fever (ASF).
The new rules, which come into force today (27 September 2024), are designed to prevent ASF being brought into the UK through infected meat.
To this end, personal imports of pork and pork products from the European Economic Area, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland are now banned unless the products are manufactured and packaged to EU commercial standards and weigh less than a maximum of 2kg.
Anyone breaking the law may be fined up to £5,000 in England, and the products will be seized and destroyed.
Although the UK has never had an outbreak of ASF, the disease is circulating in continental Europe.
This year, outbreaks of ASF in domestic pigs have been reported in Croatia, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, and in wild boar in the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.
The UK’s pig industry is worth around £8 billion and it is estimated that an outbreak of ASF could cost the UK between £10 million to £100 million.
Baroness Hayman, biosecurity minister, said: “African swine fever is a deadly disease wreaking havoc in Europe.
“These new measures will protect British pig farmers and pork products, preventing infected meat from being brought over the border and threatening our biosecurity.”
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