Manitoba Pork has received $944,340 from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program to aid in the preparation and preparedness work in the fight against African swine fever (ASF), the organization announced today. The funding is divided between three projects: increased funding to support the work of the Squeal on Pigs Manitoba initiative, funding to aid in communicating with small-scale pork producers in the province, and a project to support the development of a response plan in the event a case of ASF is found in the province.
“Animal diseases like ASF have a significant impact on the economy and on the mental health of producers,” said the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Investing in these proactive initiatives, led by Manitoba Pork, will help protect animal health and ensure the sector remains resilient and competitive internationally.”
The detection of African swine fever in Canada would be catastrophic for both the Manitoba and Canadian hog sectors and would result in not only a prolonged closure of international borders to pork, but a significant financial impact to our province and country. It is important to note that ASF does not pose a health risk to humans, other animals, or the food system, and to date, has not been detected in pigs in Canada. ASF is currently spreading throughout countries in Europe and Asia and was discovered last year in the Dominican Republic.
“African swine fever poses a tremendous risk to our province’s hog sector, and we need to do everything we can to ensure that we are prepared in the event that horrible day comes upon us,” Manitoba Pork chair Rick Préjet said. “We want to commend the federal government for not only stepping up with funding to support producers and our sector, but for their continued engagement on preparatory work with our producers and our staff to ensure that we are best prepared for an outbreak.”
Manitoba Pork continues to work with partners in the federal government, provincial government, and with producer organizations and processors, along with other stakeholders across the hog sector on preparatory work in the event of an ASF outbreak. This work is focused on major areas such as communications, disease response, animal welfare, and financial support for industry, among others.