The success of pig industry-led strategies to limit the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) within Europe has drawn praise from the Director-General of the World Health Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Dr Monique Eloit.
Speaking during a high-level meeting in Berlin, she said that the most important achievement of the international cooperation concerning ASF was the development of “an increased trust among the countries in the region as well as greater transparency on each country’s situation”.
Dr Eliot was speaking during a meeting hosted by the EU Livestock and Meat Trade Union (UECBV); the European Commission and Copa & Cogeca. The gathering also included EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, and the Maltese Secretary of State for Agriculture, Roderick Galdesfor.
Copa President, Martin Merrild, also applauded the action being taken across Europe to control ASF, adding that strong coordination between the Commission, national authorities and industry operators has enabled the EU to guarantee a high level of food security for pigmeat production in Europe. He also underlined the contribution of key EU trade partners that shared their experiences in fighting the disease.
This point was supported by UECBV Vice-President, Jos Goebbels, who said the EU has valuable and proven experience in eradicating this disease in the past, for example in Portugal and Spain. He also underlined that the Berlin seminar shows the strong interest from stakeholders across Europe to coordinate their actions to eradicate ASF.