African Swine Fever raises alarm but farmers assure local pork safe

An outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) among pigs in the Dominican Republic (DR) has triggered calls for scrutiny of pork products imported here. However, the head of the island’s pig farmers association has sought to assure Barbadians that it is safe to consume local pork.

President of the Barbados Association of Pig Farmers Henderson Williams told Barbados TODAY that while he is aware the public may be panicking over reports of the African Swine Fever outbreak in the Spanish-speaking island, given its trading relationship with Barbados’ closer Caribbean neighbour Jamaica, it has not reached this country.

While not known to affect humans, the highly contagious virus among domestic pigs is almost always fatal to the animals, with mortality rates near 100 per cent.

ASF is a different disease to swine flu, the popular name for the H1N1 virus that was responsible for a global flu outbreak in 2009 to 2010.

Jamaica’s Agriculture Ministry placed the country on high alert for African Swine Fever a day after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed the disease in samples collected from pigs in the Dominican Republic. Earlier this month, the DR announced it had slaughtered tens of thousands of pigs after the outbreak affected 11 of the country’s 32 provinces.

Declaring that an outbreak here could wipe out the country’s pig herds, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) James Paul urged a tightening of controls on meat imports.

“The Swine Fever is something that we need to avoid at all costs, because our herds in Barbados will be decimated as a result of it coming here,” Paul declared during a press conference Wednesday. “We need to have strong border controls and we need to do everything possible to make sure that we do not have the Swine Fever here. It is not something that we want, it is not something that we need.”

“I think what is dangerous, though, is that we are bringing in produce from countries that hitherto, we have never brought them in from,” he added.

While Barbados does not import pork or processed meat from the DR, Paul sounded an alarm on neighbouring countries, zeroing in on Jamaica.

He told reporters: “I know that Jamaica is just next door to the DR. Jamaica does have a relationship with the DR and the Jamaicans are becoming very aggressive in terms of trying to bring in certain products here.

“I don’t know what are the levels of control as it relates to the products coming from the DR into Jamaica, and that is how these diseases travel. Because of openness of borders, because of products travelling from one country to another and the fact that there could be some weakness there, and it is likely because of some lax border controls, it could happen. That is why sometimes we have to make sure that products brought in at the airport are from an approved country.”

While the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is set to roll out an education campaign on behalf of the close to 200 pig farmers on the island, Williams said he wanted the public to know that they must have no fear purchasing pork from supermarkets and other outlets.

He said: “As consumers hear the news of what is happening in the Dominican Republic, they would obviously want to know if Barbados is affected, and the answer to that is ‘no’. We are going to put everything in place to ensure that it is not an issue for us. So, you can continue to consume the local pork in the same way that you have been in the past.”

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that because African Swine Fever is now in the region, Barbados must take proactive measures. She said she has asked Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir to speak to Barbadians about the matter.

Williams said pig farmers are working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor the developing situation.

“Pig farmers are paying close attention to what is happening,” he told Barbados TODAY. “We can only get it here if it is imported and, thus far, we are doing everything to make sure it doesn’t get here. And as people go with fake news and stuff like that, the Ministry will do all that it has to do to ensure that our industry remains safe.”

According to the World Organization for Animal Health, African Swine Fever is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs.

The virus could be introduced by way of importation of infected pork products and contamination of feed, equipment, vehicles, and clothing.

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb),
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb