Belarus bans import of pork from Tver region, Russia

20-11-2012 | | |
Belarus bans import of pork from Tver region, Russia

The continuous outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in the wild reported in the Tver region forced Belarus to ban pork imports from this part of Russia.

“From 9 November, Belarus has restricted the import of pork from the Tver region,” stated the official message the Department of Veterinary and Food supervision under the Ministry of Agriculture of the country. “This decision was made due to the further spread of the highly dangerous disease – African Swine Fever in the region,” the statement said.



“According to an alert by the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) since  9 November  2012, the veterinary experts are still identifying  animals infected with the causative agent of African Swine Fever in the hunting area Zavidovo, Konakovo district in the Tver region,” explained the department.



In this regard, the Department of Veterinary and Food Supervision is considering it necessary to prevent Belarus import of live pigs, pork, including the wild boars, and processed meat, hides, raw intestines, hair, hunting trophies derived from animals susceptible to the disease, feed and feed additives both phytogenic and animal origin, including heat treated, made from raw materials of the Tver region, as well as used equipment for keeping, slaughter and butchering of pigs.



At the same time, the veterinary inspectors of the Tver region just recently lifted the ASF quarantine in the Konakovo district. Plans for restrictive measures to eliminate outbreaks of African Swine Fever and prevent the spread of the disease in the Tver region being carried out.

Vorotnikov
Vladislav Vorotnikov Eastern Europe correspondent