A coalition of pig sector and meat industry bodies has written to Defra secretary Steve Reed urging him to take immediate action to strengthen the UK’s national disease control measures.
The coalition – the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, the British Meat Processors Association and three pork processing businesses, Cranswick, Pilgrim’s Europe and Sofina, supported by the NPA and the British Pig Association – said recent African swine fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in the EU ‘underscore the imminent risk to the UK’.
“And yet, there is little confidence within the industry that APHA possesses the capability or resources to effectively detect or control an exotic disease outbreak,” they say in an open letter to the Defra secretary.
ASF threat
With multiple ongoing outbreaks in Europe, ‘without immediate and effective controls, there is a very real danger of ASF reaching UK pig herds, with catastrophic consequences for the entire pork supply chain’, the coalition warns.
While ASF has not yet reached the UK, but its potential spread has been aided by illegal meat imports, poor border biosecurity, and inadequate control measures, the letter states.
An outbreak would result in the culling of thousands of pigs, leading to significant animal welfare concerns, a nationwide movement standstill, the suspension of pigmeat exports, worth £663 million in 2022, and a domestic pork supply shortage, pushing up prices and further harming UK food security.
“Despite these risks, the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)—intended to control and monitor commercial imports—is not functioning effectively.
“At Sevington Border Control Post, there should be 100 physical inspections per day, yet reports indicate that fewer than 10% of these are actually being completed. “Additionally, the auto-clearance of loads without physical inspection is increasing the risk of illegal, contaminated meat entering the UK. Personal imports of up to 2kg of meat remain unchecked, despite Government reassurances that stronger measures would be introduced. “
The letter also addresses the risk posed by illegal imports, 90% of which arrive via Dover. “We believe the Government must urgently invest in targeted enforcement at key ports of entry. DPHA estimates that £4 million would allow for the continuation and expansion of an inspection regime that could drastically reduce the risk of contaminated meat entering the UK,” the letter adds.
The organisations call for an outright ban on the personal import of all meat products, as is already the case in many countries worldwide. They argue that this would provide a clear and enforceable policy across all UK entry points, prevent contaminated meat from being smuggled into the country and ensure greater control at the border, reducing the likelihood of an outbreak.
Industry preparedness
The letter adds that the industry has little confidence in APHA’s ability to effectively detect and control exotic disease outbreaks.
“There are serious concerns that APHA lacks the trained personnel, operational infrastructure, and leadership required to respond to a large-scale animal health emergency. A meeting hosted by Cranswick and Defra in March 2024 highlighted the lack of clear and timely disease management plans for ASF.
“We were informed that, in the event of an outbreak, it would take at least two weeks to pass emergency disease legislation—a delay that is wholly unacceptable given the rapid spread of such diseases.
“Recent Pilgrim’s Europe and Defra discussions were against the backdrop of the continued ASF threat and FMD outbreaks in Europe, and have reignited concerns about the UK’s ability to respond effectively.”
FMD risk
With FMD, which has been confirmed in three European countries this year, posing a growing threat, the oranisations express concern at the deficiencies in APHA’s response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and other emerging threats. They call for:
- Urgent retraining of APHA staff to ensure competency in early disease detection and response.
- Veterinary Inspector (VI) numbers to be significantly increased, as the loss of experienced professionals has left a dangerous skills gap.
- Enhanced biosecurity measures across all major entry points, with a specific focus on preventing the importation of high-risk products.
- Surveillance systems to be modernised, utilising AI, blockchain, and data-sharing technologies to provide real-time risk assessments and early warning alerts.
Institutional Competence
The organistions highlighted what they described as the ‘erosion of institutional expertise within APHA’, which they said has resulted in a significant decline in the UK’s ability to respond to disease outbreaks.
This includes the replacement of key, experienced staff with younger, inexperienced personnel, leading to critical decision-making failures and the under-utilisation of technological advancements, with outdated surveillance and tracking methods still in place.
“Laboratory facilities are underfunded and poorly maintained, reducing the UK’s ability to rapidly test and diagnose exotic diseases. If these issues are not addressed immediately, the UK will find itself catastrophically unprepared for an ASF or FMD outbreak.
“Failure to act now will cost the UK economy billions—far more than the investment required to implement effective prevention measures.”
Call to Action
The organisations make six calls to action:
- Ban all non-commercial personal meat imports to prevent the introduction of ASF.
- Increase border enforcement and surveillance at high-risk entry points such as Dover.
- Reverse planned funding cuts to Border Force and APHA to ensure adequate inspection resources.
- Pre-designate UK abattoirs for disease containment processing, ensuring that in the event of an outbreak, operations can continue without delay.
- Invest in APHA retraining, veterinary recruitment, and biosecurity infrastructure to address systemic failures in the UK’s disease preparedness strategy.
- Accelerate the modernisation of disease surveillance and control measures, incorporating advanced AI, blockchain tracking, and data-driven risk assessment tools.
Defra comment
On funding for Dover Port Health Authority, Defra said it had put a funding proposal to DPHA and that it ‘remained committed to agreeing an appropriate funding model for 2025/26 with DPHA to help tackle illegal imports’.
It said it was taking a ‘pragmatic approach’ to phasing in EU import controls, which was ‘carefully calibrated to balance an expectation that businesses will do their best to comply whilst protecting biosecurity and minimising disruption to the flow of goods’.
It insisted TODCOF auto-clearance system is ‘a contingency measure that the public would expect a government digital service to have’, and is designed to support PHAs in their management of imports. TODCOF can be configured to ensure goods of greatest risk and concern are not auto-cleared, it added.