0
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have developed a protocol to help ensure bilateral trade will continue if African swine fever (ASF) is detected in feral swine in either country, while still absent from domestic swine.
The intent of the protocol is to protect swine populations in both countries during an outbreak of ASF in feral swine, while minimizing impacts on the trade of live swine, swine products, and other swine commodities. Upon an ASF feral swine detection, all trade between both countries would initially stop. Then, according to the protocol, trade would resume in three, progressive phases with increasingly reduced restrictions on live swine, swine germplasm, and untreated swine commodities.
How quickly the U.S. and Canada establish initial control areas, initiate surveillance/case findings and removal in feral swine, and start surveillance in captive swine, will determine when they enter phase two of the protocol. During the third and final phase, trade restrictions are reduced to the boundaries of the established control area.
APHIS and CFIA are continuing to work with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that both countries have the processes and procedures in place to fully implement the protocol.
March 16, 2021/ USDA/ United States.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/
