離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Council ends all pig vaccinations
Pigs wallow in a pen on a farm in Pingtung County in an undated photograph. Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
FIRST IN ASIA? With the termination of vaccines for pigs, Taiwan will apply next year with the animal health body to be declared a disease-free pork producer
By Yang Yuan-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA
The Council of Agriculture is to end all inoculation of farmed pigs against classical swine fever starting today, achieving a milestone in the nation’s efforts to be declared a disease-free pork producer, it said yesterday.
The government will submit its application for classical swine fever-free status to the World Organisation for Animal Health, or OIE, a year after the end of the vaccination program, the council said.
If the application is approved, Taiwan would become the only pork-producing nation in Asia to be free of the three main types of hog infectious diseases — traditional swine fever, African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease, the council said.
In 2021, the council introduced a three-year plan to eradicate classical swine fever, which is endemic in Asia, to help pig farmers export pork products to countries such as Japan.
Under the plan, after two years of preparations that involved comprehensive vaccinations, the monitoring of epidemic risks in pig farms, and inspections of slaughterhouses and the conditions of wild boars, the council decided to end hog vaccinations in two phases starting in January.
There have been no confirmed cases of classical swine fever in Taiwan since 2005.
Rolling evaluations were deployed to determine vaccination cessation for distinct types of pigs, with stud pigs yesterday being the last to be declared free of the vaccination requirement, the council said.
A panel of agricultural experts determined that a total cessation of inoculation programs is safe after detecting no cases of traditional swine fever among unvaccinated stock, it said.
It called on pig farmers to bolster on-farm biosafety to reduce the risks of a classical swine fever outbreak and to report any case, should it occur, immediately to the authorities.
Stockpiling vaccines for pigs or administering the vaccine to pigs is punishable by a fine of NT$30,000 to NT $150,000 （US$964 to US$4,818）, it said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
