0211 African Swine Fever"China claims the epidemic is slowing down, but the Council of Agriculture slaps back that the reporting is false, and unscrupulous operators who dumped dead pigs are under investigation
The Spring Festival holiday has just ended, but vigilance against African swine fever cannot be relaxed at all! The Council of Agriculture held a press conference today (the 11th) and announced that during the Spring Festival holiday from February 2 to February 10, a total of 16 cases of illegally smuggled meat products were each fined 200,000 yuan, of which 11 were foreign travelers, and 7 who refused to pay the fines were denied entry, including 6 travelers of Chinese nationality and 1 traveler of Israeli nationality.
Since the outbreak of African swine fever in China, is there a trend of the epidemic slowing down? Huang Jincheng, deputy commander of the Central Emergency Operation Center for African Swine Fever, said that China's reporting to the World Organisation for Animal Health (hereinafter referred to as OIE) is false. For example, Taiwan detected a case of African swine fever in a ham sausage on January 22, and its source was Shandong, which China lists as a disease-free area. In addition, China reported to the OIE that the epidemic had eased in January and February of this year, but judging from the test results at Taiwan's border, the amount of pork products infected with swine fever from China increased in January and February. Huang believes that only if the number of border tests slows down in March and April can China's claim of a "slowing epidemic" be accepted as true.
A total of 582 pig farms using kitchen waste for feed have not obtained verification, and only 34 have been fined. How will control be implemented?
Regarding the strengthening of management of pig farming with kitchen waste, as of February 11, there were a total of 1,930 pig farms nationwide using kitchen waste for feed, of which 736 had obtained verification for kitchen waste reuse, 612 had switched to feed, and the remaining 582 had not obtained verification for kitchen waste reuse. The Council of Agriculture said that local governments will assist them in transitioning to feed, or they must apply to exit pig farming and leave the industry before March 31.
Huang Jincheng said that fines will be imposed in accordance with the Waste Disposal Act, and if government measures are ignored, penalties will be imposed continuously. However, since advocacy began in November and joint inspections began in December, nearly four months have passed, and the Environmental Protection Bureau has so far fined only 34 farms. Should the government set a clear timetable to truly implement control of pig farming with kitchen waste? Huang instructed that the Department of Animal Industry must definitely work with the Environmental Protection Administration to conduct inspections and guidance for these 582 farms, that repeated problems in the execution capacity of public authority must not be tolerated, and that they must be dealt with as soon as possible.
A small number of operators, fearing African swine fever, actually dumped dead pigs at will
Has swine fever in China had an impact on the current domestic pork market? Huang Jincheng admitted, "Psychologically there is a bit of an impact." However, the current epidemic and market conditions are still within control. Huang said that there are still situations in which dead pigs are discarded domestically, which to a certain extent reflects operators' fear of contracting swine fever, but the test results so far have all been negative, indicating that no epidemic has occurred.
Du Wenzhen, deputy director-general of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said that if operators who discard pig carcasses are found, they will be fined under the Regulations for the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases in an amount of no less than NT$50,000 and no more than NT$1 million. In some cases the person who discarded them cannot be found, and some cases are under investigation. As of today (the 11th), there have been no cases in which a fine has been imposed.
As for the market, before the Lunar New Year pork was 69 yuan per kilogram, and during the Spring Festival it dropped slightly to 67 yuan per kilogram, but it was still in the green light zone. Huang Jincheng reiterated that there are no problems with domestic pork products and encouraged the public to eat more Taiwanese pork.