USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a federal order suspending the movement of all pork and pork products from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico into the United States. That order is the final step in a series of safeguards needed to establish an African Swine Fever Protection Zone. Nebraska Pork Producers Association’s Executive Director Al Juhnke says those precautions are necessary to keep ASF off the mainland of the United States.
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He says the U.S. pork industry and USDA are keeping a close eye on bordering countries in ASF prevention efforts with the most recent eye being put on Mexico.
Juhnke says the other major preventative step U.S. pork producers can take besides upgrading their biosecurity is to have a SECURE PORK Plan in place.
With the protection zone in place, APHIS can continue to prohibit the movement of live swine and products out of the protection zone, conduct appropriate surveillance within the zone to quickly detect any introduction of the disease.
