The Government 'will be complicit' in major animal disease outbreak like African swine fever, expert warns

National Pig Association chief executive Lizzie Wilson raised concerns with MPs about the risks of illegally imported meat containing African swine fever and reported delays in foot and mouth disease controls.

A Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs spokesperson told The Yorkshire Post: “These goods are not permitted to enter the country, any consignment carrying them will not progress through our clearance system and will be stopped at the border.”

Ms Wilson was giving evidence in Parliament yesterday alongside other industry figures to the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee’s inquiry into the Government’s preparedness for disease outbreaks.

She predicted that African swine fever, which is currently spreading across Europe, could cost the pig industry up to £100m, while another foot and mouth outbreak could potentially reach £14.7bn.

“If we do end up with another notifiable disease … government will be complicit,” she told MPs, “if they’ve not actually stopped the meat that they are entirely aware of coming into this country.”

She said she feared businesses in the pig sector would be “irrevocably damaged” if there was an outbreak of either disease in the UK.

African swine fever, which is similar to foot and mouth disease, “is very prevalent across Europe” and “has been making its way westward for a number of years now”, Ms Wilson said.

There are fears that affected meat could be smuggled into the UK, through cars and coaches coming through ports as tourists, and sold on the black market.

Ms Wilson explained that in countries like Romania, where African swine fever has been detected, producers “are looking for other routes”.

Since September 2022, the Port of Dover Health Authority has confiscated more than 200 tonnes of illegal meat.

“We know that 90 per cent of illegally imported products of animal origin are coming in via Dover Port and we know it’s coming in via the tourist routes via illegally imported pig meat in vans and coaches,” Ms Wilson told MPs.

“But we also know that it’s coming in via the commercial line lanes because the Border Target Operating Model just simply isn’t fit for purpose.

“We believe that more resource should be channelled. Dover still haven’t got any sort of funding agreement in place and we have literally got weeks before they will have to stop all of those inspections checks.”

“We also know that down the west coast of the country, there are no controls and no checks or monitoring whatsoever, so it’s essentially an open door for product to flow into the country,” she added.

While on foot and mouth disease controls, Ms Wilson raised concerns that “there isn’t the resource dedicated to implement and enforce them”.

The Yorkshire Post previously reported evidence given to the EFRA Committee from senior port figures that the online reporting system took up to a week to update, after a foot and mouth outbreak amongst water buffalo was detected in Germany on January 10.

The disease was contained in Brandenburg, in Germany, however Ms Wilson raised concerns that at-risk products made it across the UK border.

When asked by committee chair Alistair Carmichael, the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs’ chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss was unable to confirm how long it took the online system to update.

However, she told MPs that ports were holding consignments from the day Germany alerted the UK to the outbreak, as the IT system was overridden.

Dr Middlemiss added the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency are working to trace any at-risk products that may have entered the country.

The Defra spokesperson added: “The government will do whatever it takes to protect our nation’s farmers from the risk posed by foot and mouth disease.

“That is why restrictions were immediately brought in on animal products from Germany to prevent an outbreak.”