Pork farmers are killing pigs, but instead of the animals becoming bacon they’re being slaughtered and buried.
African swine fever has been reported in nearly 50 nations — including China, South Korea, the Philippines and Belgium — and it’s causing an incredible crisis on a global scale. Alarmingly, more than one-quarter of Earth’s pigs have been wiped out by the virulent disease.
The disease is spread when swine come into contact with other contaminated pigs, ticks or feed. The mortality rate, frighteningly, is 100%.
Now, many countries fear that African swine fever will wipe out their pork supplies, including Australia.
Despite no reported cases as of yet, the disease is affecting the Southern Hemisphere nation’s prices for both consumers and farmers, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Thankfully, African swine fever poses no threat to human health, but people are still capable of spreading it despite not being able to contract it.
Mark Schipp, Australia’s chief veterinarian, says the country has strong biosecurity alarms in place and is hopeful the disease won’t spread Down Under. But he also noted that pork industry leaders are demanding more funding.
“Obviously, if you’re one of those industries that is likely to be affected, you’d like to see more resources,” said Schipp.
In Minnesota, which is the third-largest pig-producing state, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, African swine fever could devastate its economy.
“We’re in a tough situation and it’s not just trade. That’s a bigger problem frankly than these deals at this point in terms of the prices (for soybeans), said Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson.
Once the disease spreads, little can be done other than culling herds and loading carcasses into hazardous waste sites, according to MinnPost.
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health advises that people who recently traveled out of the U.S. should not be near livestock for at least five days.
