NI pig industry warned over African swine fever

Both DAERA and the Ulster Farmers Union are calling on pig farmers to be aware of the threat.

Kieran Mailey

19 September 2018

NI pig industry warned over African swine fever

The Ulster Farmers Union are calling on pig farmers to be vigilant against the threat of African swine fever.

Both DAERA and the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) have urged pig farmers to be vigilant and implement strict hygiene and biosecurity measures after confirmation that African swine fever has been found in two wild boars in Belgium.

While the risk to pig farmers in NI is low, the UFU said that the spread of disease as far west as Belgium is concerning.

In a statement, DAERA reminded all pig owners that it is illegal to feed catering waste of any description or domestic food waste to farm animals, including pigs. That comes after some of the outbreaks of the disease in Europe have been attributed to wild boar or domestic pigs consuming contaminated pork or pork products.

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