{"id":253462,"date":"2020-02-21T18:27:57","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T08:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=253462"},"modified":"2020-06-29T16:51:16","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T06:51:16","slug":"people-food-isnt-pig-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/02\/21\/people-food-isnt-pig-food\/","title":{"rendered":"People Food Isn’t Pig Food"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Agriculture Minister Mark Furner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 21, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

African Swine Fever has now been detected in Greece, prompting the State Government to warn Queenslanders again to be aware of this very real biosecurity threat to the local pork industry.<\/p>\n

An advertising campaign emphasising that “people food is not pig food” began this week.<\/p>\n

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said African Swine Fever could potentially wipe out a valuable industry, hitting the economy and people\u2019s jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest threat is from the illegal importation of pork or pork products through incoming passenger movements and mail and these products being eaten by pigs,\u201d Mr Furner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new awareness campaign starting this week will educate community members \u2013 particularly those who come in contact with pigs – about the significant threat from African Swine Fever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt only takes one person illegally bringing pork or pork products into Australia from overseas and these being fed to pigs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe community needs to know that ‘people food is not pig food’ and also be able to identify the signs and symptoms of African Swine Fever and how to report it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile people can\u2019t be infected with African Swine Fever, actions such as feeding pigs ham and cheese rolls and Caesar salads can have detrimental effect on our pork industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrevention is the key, so we really need everybody to understand the risk and that\u2019s why we\u2019re running this education campaign.”<\/p>\n

Mr Furner said there was\u00a0no treatment or vaccine for African Swine Fever, which affects pigs but not humans.<\/p>\n

“In its most severe form, up to 100 per cent of pigs may be affected and die,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is estimated that up to a quarter of the world\u2019s pigs have been lost as a result of African swine fever during the current global outbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone who keeps pigs must be registered as a biosecurity entity. Visit qld.gov.au\/BiosecurityRegistration<\/a><\/strong> to learn more.<\/p>\n

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Dr Heather Channon has been appointed as Australia\u2019s first national feral pig management co-ordinator.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said there were an estimated 24 million feral pigs in Australia, costing the national agricultural sector about $14.5 million a year and posing the risk of spreading diseases such as African Swine Fever.<\/p>\n

A roundtable will be held in Canberra in late March to bring together industry, governments, researchers and other stakeholders to deliver a national approach to feral pig management.<\/p>\n

Mr Littleproud said\u00a0$1.4 million was announced last November\u00a0 to fund Australian Pork Limited to support a co-ordinator to tackle the feral pig problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis role will coordinate reliable methods and work collaboratively on the ground with landholders, the States and territories to manage feral pig numbers,” he said.<\/p>\n

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