Special Livestock Epidemic Prevention Period Until February Next Year... "Adjusting Culling Scope According to Risk Level"

Preventing Farm Damage and Minimizing Supply Instability
Focusing on Livestock Infectious Disease Control Until February Next Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has designated the five-month period from October this year to February next year as a special quarantine period for livestock infectious disease prevention, aiming to strengthen measures against major livestock infectious diseases such as avian influenza (AI), African swine fever (ASF), and foot-and-mouth disease. This is to minimize the adverse effects on the ordinary people's economy caused by the widespread outbreak of livestock infectious diseases, which inflict enormous damage on livestock-related farms and cause price instability due to supply and demand disruptions. To this end, the scope of culling in the event of AI outbreaks will be adjusted according to risk levels.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 30th that at the government affairs inspection meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, a special quarantine plan for livestock infectious diseases was proposed, confirmed, and implemented to strengthen quarantine management by designating the period from October to February next year as a special quarantine period.

In the case of AI, the surveillance range for migratory birds will be expanded, and access control for livestock vehicles at migratory bird habitats will be made mandatory to strengthen quarantine management in areas at risk of contamination. Additionally, a pilot operation of a flock management grading system based on the level of biosecurity at layer farms will be conducted, and the method for selecting farms wishing to restrict duck farming will be improved to strengthen management of vulnerable factors at farms.

The crisis alert level and inspection system will be improved, and risk assessments will be conducted every two weeks to adjust the scope of preventive culling, thereby reorganizing the management system. The government will set the basic culling range as all livestock species within 500 meters and the same species (excluding broilers) within 500 meters to 3 kilometers, with adjustments made based on biweekly evaluations as necessary. If special situations occur, such as simultaneous AI outbreaks in two or more regions, the evaluation cycle will be changed.

Regarding ASF, wild boars will be intensively captured during this period to reduce their population, and fences will be installed in major outbreak areas to block the southward movement of wild boars. Furthermore, improvements to biosecurity facilities at pig farms and inspections of biosecurity practices will be strengthened, and biosecurity guidelines will be actively promoted. In the event of ASF outbreaks, zoning of the affected nearby areas and prohibition of farm workers' entry into farms will be enforced to prevent the spread of contamination sources.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.