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By Jaryn Vecchio

Deadly Pork Disease

Feds providing Manitoba Pork Council $950K to help prevent African swine fever

Aug 4, 2023 | 10:26 AM

The federal government is providing nearly $950,000 to the Manitoba Pork Council to help them prepare for the possibility of African swine fever (ASF).

ASF is a contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and wild pigs, however, it’s not a threat to human health or a food safety issue.

The disease has been spreading across Asia and Europe since 2018 and was recently found in the Caribbean. Despite this, there has never been a confirmed case in Canada.

To help continue that, the Manitoba Pork Council plans on using the funds on several different projects including enhancing efforts to control wild pigs in the province, developing an integrated response plan that focuses on animal welfare, and disease response and sector recovery.

“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,” said Rick Préjet, Chair of the Manitoba Pork Council. “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.”

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The funding is coming from the African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program (ASFIPP). It was launched in 2022 with the federal government over $23 million which will be handed out over a three-year period.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow