ASF: Defra announces ‘immediate’ safeguarding rules

Defra has announced ‘immediate measures’ to step up the UK’s protection against African swine fever.

The new safeguarding rules will help protect UK livestock by mitigating its spread across the border, the department said.

Personal imports of pork and pork products from the European Economic Area (EEA), the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland will be banned from tomorrow (Friday 27^th September).

The exception is products that are manufactured and packaged to EU commercial standards, and weighing less than a maximum of 2kg. 

Those found to bring pork or pork products illegally may be fined up to £5,000 in England. Products will be seized and destroyed on arrival.  

Previous measures introduced in September 2022 banned the import of pork and pork products not produced to EU commercial standards that weighed more than 2kg.  

It is estimated that an outbreak of ASF could cost the UK between £10 million to £100 million.  

“Wreaking havoc”

Biosecurity minister Baroness Hayman said: “African swine fever is a deadly disease wreaking havoc in Europe.   

“These new measures will protect British pig farmers and pork products, preventing infected meat from being brought over the border and threatening our biosecurity.” 

ASF is continuing to circulate in wild boar across multiple regions in Europe. 

It was detected in wild boar in western Germany for the first time earlier this year. 

There were also two outbreaks in domestic pigs less than 100km from the border with France, which Defra said is ‘concerning’ in its latest outbreak assessment.

In June, Poland and Germany reported their first outbreaks of ASF in 2024 – highlighting the ongoing threat to livestock, and from human-mediated routes of incursion.

An increase in ASF outbreaks in the Baltic states, namely Lithuania and Latvia, over the summer months is similar to patterns seen in previous years.

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Illegal imports

The UK has never had an outbreak ASF, and commercial meat imports are routinely checked at the border to ensure infected goods do not reach UK shores. 

Evidence from inspections at Great Britain ports suggests that there are several vehicles illegally bringing pork meat into Great Britain from some regions of the EU affected by ASF.

Port Health Authorities in GB have reported seizing over 80 tonnes of illegal pork and pork products since the ASF safeguard was introduced in 2022. 

Defra is providing £3.1 million for Dover Port Health Authority for 2024/25 to help Border Force tackle illegal meat imports.  

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