Russia’s state veterinary service, Rosselkhoznadzor, has warned that African swine fever (ASF) is still hitting new animals in Europe, voicing continued criticism of the European Commission’s handling of the issue.
The comment adds to the current “mixed message” flow of information on Russia’s future trading attitude towards the EU, coming only a few days after the service announced that consideration was being given to opening the country up again “to the supply of breeding pigs from the EU”.
While the positive message from Russia applies to breeding pigs, bovine offal and some animal fats, the nature of Rosselkhoznadzor’s ASF warning suggests that a lot of work remains to be done before a serous resumption of pig industry business between Russia and the EU will begin.
“Experts from Rosselkhoznadzor warned the European Commission (EC) of an impending ASF threat a few years ago,” said the service in a website statement. “Unfortunately, the development of the epizootic in the EU has justified our most pessimistic forecasts.”
The statement also made the point that the EC’s decision to “limit” its original ASF action to “minimum measures” had allowed the pathogen to take root, before spreading to new areas and countries.