A river runs red with the blood of dead pigs . Denmark, Luxembourg and France are building border fences to interrupt the movements of wild boars, even as European Union farmers stock more pigs to cash in on rocketing pork prices. Overseas visitors found bringing undeclared pork treats into Australian airports are being sent home, and having their visas .
The of African swine fever across Eurasia dwarfs most other infectious outbreaks among animals, and has experts reaching for apocalyptic language. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the biggest threat to any commercial livestock of our generation,鈥� says Mark Schipp, chief veterinary officer of Australia.
China, where 2019 is the Year of the Pig, was home to half the world鈥檚 pigs when African swine fever arrived there last year. Now the number of pigs in the country has halved.
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Schipp made global headlines by saying that a quarter of the world鈥檚 pigs would die because of the swine fever. That was based, Schipp told 快猫短视频, on figures from China showing pig numbers in August at 40 per cent of pre-swine fever levels.
鈥淲e have probably already reached 25 per cent,鈥� he says. A study by Dutch agricultural financial services firm Rabobank has reached similar conclusions.
But pig numbers fell both because pigs died 鈥� either of swine fever, or through culling of infected herds 鈥� and because farmers who lost their pigs didn鈥檛 immediately restock and breed as usual, because the virus can linger for months.
So, the number of pigs in the world is down by a quarter, but how much of this is due to animals dying, and how much is due to them simply not being produced? 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really know how much of each,鈥� says Schipp. Justin Sherrard of Rabobank agrees.
Either way, the loss is having global repercussions. by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization attributes globally increased meat prices and trade to African swine fever, as China shops for 2 million tonnes more meat imports than usual. Pig producers in the EU especially are increasing production 鈥渄ue to robust demand from China鈥�.
Yet EU pigs are under threat, with swine fever in eastern Europe and infected wild boar trotting west. Denmark, and have raised fences to keep them out. Pig experts 鈥� even the fortified border between North and South Korea has failed to stop wild boar.
Australia, with 10 times as many feral pigs as farmed pigs, is at risk 鈥� but mainly from . Dogs are sniffing flights from affected areas, and with their right to visit Australia rescinded for three years after they arrived carrying undeclared pork products.
