A frican swine fever (ASF) looms large over the EU pig farming sector as a clear and present danger.So far it has affected the fringes of the EU pig industry but is now too close for comfort to its heartland. Denmark's plans for a 44-mile fence along its German border to keep wild boar out highlight the current nervousness.The official risk status of incursion to the UK remains 'low'. But, as the NPA points out, this does not take into account the devastation that would be wreaked if the virus did reach these shores. What makes the situation particularly worthy of attention is that, as with foot-and-mouth in 2001 and classical swine fever (CSF) in 2000, it only takes a single incident to bring the industry to a standstill. And that is likely to be down to human error.
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