African swine fever

One of the easiest ways you can protect Australia’s pork industry from ASF and other disease threats is to feed your pigs the right feed. Food waste that has come into contact with meat or contains meat must not be fed to pigs. This type of food waste, known as swill, could contain viruses such as ASF virus, which can be passed onto your pigs if they consume the infected food waste. Feeding swill to pigs is illegal in Australia.

Sound on-farm biosecurity practices are essential for anyone who has pigs, from commercial pig farmers to backyard pig owners. Ensure you keep good animal health and visitor records, limit movement (e.g. people, pigs, vehicles, equipment, waste etc.) on and off farm property, implement insect, rodent and feral pig controls to get started.

Limit contact between domestic pigs and feral pigs, and do not allow someone to come into contact with your pigs if they have recently returned from overseas.

Farm biosecurity is essential for anyone who owns pigs, from commercial pig farmers to backyard pig owners, in order to keep out harmful disease organisms. It is important to ensure you keep good animal health and visitor records, limit movements of people and vehicles onto the farm (especially around the animal production areas) and control insects, rodents and feral pigs. It is also important to limit contact between domestic pigs and feral pigs, and do not allow someone to come into contact with your pigs if they have recently returned from overseas.

It is important to declare on your Incoming Passenger Card any food and animal products, and other risk items. This can include footwear, equipment, or clothes that may have been in contact with animals or worn in a rural area. Make sure your clothing and footwear are clean before you pack your bags.

You should immediately report any unusual signs of illness in animals to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888, your veterinarian, or your state/territory department of primary industries (or equivalent).

It’s difficult to predict how an outbreak of ASF would play out, given there are a number of ways it may start (e.g. in feral pigs, in a suburban backyard, in a commercial piggery) and spread.

The most important thing to do if an ASF outbreak occurs is to comply with the instructions of your state government biosecurity personnel, who will be working hard to contain and eradicate the disease.

For more information, Animal Health Australia have a range of fact sheets on response activities and control measures.

Australia has arrangements in place to manage animal disease outbreaks. The AUSVETPLAN ASF response strategy describes the nationally agreed approach to control and eradicate ASF if it occurs in Australia. The Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement (or EADRA) is an agreement between all state and territory governments, the Australian government and livestock industry bodies which enables a quick and effective response to an EAD incident, while minimising uncertainty over management and funding arrangements.

The response to a disease outbreak conducted under the EADRA is cost-shared, meaning governments and industries split the costs of the response based on a pre-agreed formula

If your pigs die of ASF or are culled to control its spread, you may be eligible for compensation. Each jurisdiction has different legislation for determining eligibility for compensation.

For more specific information, you’ll need to contact your state government department of primary industries or equivalent. During an outbreak, information on compensation claims will be made available by the state/territory government department of primary industries.

As ASF only affects pigs, no other livestock species are at risk of contracting the disease. However, control measures may have an impact on your ability to buy, sell or transport your livestock, as transporters, saleyards and abattoirs may not be operating as they normally would. This depends on the scale of the outbreak and the control measures in place.

Additionally, if ASF is found in the feral pig population, landowners may be asked to comply with control measures, regardless of whether they have domesticated pigs on the property.