5 thoughts on “Kind Of A Pig Deal

  1. Slightly Bemused

    African swine fever can be absolutely devastating, and as far as I know there is no vaccination or cure available.A number of years back as part of an aid programme I was involved in pigs were given out to communities intended as a source of food and income. However, someone not part of the programme bought 2 pigs in an area where swine fever was endemic, and it transmitted to almost all the pigs in the area of the programme. Over 80% of the pigs were wiped out, including the 2 Typhoid Banbhs.

    I should point out, pigs were given at the request of the community who raised them regularly: they were not imposed by well meaning foreigners. they were also vaccinated against everything we could, and ‘paravets’ trained to help maintain health, with regular vet visits also. Even so, the fever spread so fast it was almost impossible to stop.

    If there is a threat to our pigs, I applaud the Dept for raising it to public consciousness.

    We switched to shoats after that :)

    1. Steph Pinker

      Slightly, I’m not being facetious but how old are you? You’ve had many jobs and appear to be knowledgeable about the ones you’ve mentioned.

      Kudos to you anyway.

  2. Verbatim

    The above is talking about Ireland, how can you get swine flu from feeding scraps to pigs – that’s all pigs ever ate. This seems an outlandish claim Swine flu could get into Ireland by feeding food scraps to pigs. If that’s the case what are we eating?

    1. Slightly Bemused

      Yes, it is talking about Ireland, and keeping it out. The disease is endemic in several parts of Europe after being brought back from Africa during colonial times. My point was about how devastating it is when it gets into a population of pigs, where the location is actually irrelevant.

      It is a proven fact that it can be spread through scraps, particularly of not fully cooked pigmeat products, if eaten. It is not spread via scrap vegetables, but food scraps often include meats, and pigs will eat anything.

      If you want a good source for information, try here:
      https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/animal-diseases/control-measures/asf_en
      There are a number of links to the scientific studies about it’s virulence and locations within the EU.

      1. Verbatim

        Thank you for the link and further information on Pig Flu of which I know a lot more about now. Pigs hold a special place in my heart

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