Polish pig farmers are concerned about the relaxation of veterinary regulations regarding ASF

Homesteads will be allowed to refuse to install disinfectant mats at the entrance and exit of pigsties. You also no longer need to keep an inventory of your pigs and keep records of transport and personnel entering the farm. Homeowners have long supported these changes. The ministry estimates that they could help several thousand farms across the country.

Security Considerations

However, the authors of the letter, signed by the Polish pig breeders' association Polpig, the Polish pig breeders' association Polsus and the Polish MEAT Association, warn that the new reform could wipe out all the progress the country has made over the past nine years in the fight against African swine fever (ASF).

“Non-compliance with elementary biosafety rules in the segment of household plots on the proposed scale and territorial coverage is unjustified. Biosecurity measures in pig farms are important regardless of the size of the herd,” the authors note.

All farms in one boat

“In our opinion, it is still too early to remove important elements of biosecurity on individual farms,” a representative of one of the industry associations told local news agency Agripolska. He explained that an outbreak of ASF on the backyard farm would cause great problems for all farmers in the vicinity.

In addition, existing rules do not provide compensation to farmers who strictly follow veterinary rules and are forced to invest heavily in maintaining biosecurity. Industrial farmers see this as unfair.

“Abandonment of full veterinary control over small herds will complicate epidemiological investigations and greatly complicate the work aimed at preventing new outbreaks of ASF,” the authors note.

The industry is in a sorry state.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Poland is trying to fight the ongoing decline in the number of pigs. In early 2023, the number of pigs in Poland is estimated to have fallen to 9.6 million heads, the lowest since the 1950s.

Janusz Piechocinski, former Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister, said that small and medium-sized slaughterhouses across the country are massively suspending work due to problems in pig production. According to him, the situation continues to deteriorate, as the daily slaughter in Poland now stands at 40,000 heads compared to 75,000 heads last year.