THE concern about foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks near Australia has put a focus on pig feeding in an effort to prevent the spread of dangerous livestock diseases.
Meat, meat products, or any food that is served on the same plate as, or has come into contact with meat must not be fed to pigs or supplied for feeding them.
Dairy products from overseas are also banned as pig feed.
Foods that cannot be given to pigs include salad and vegetables that have been served with meat, salads that contain meat, butcher’s waste, pies, pasties, and delicatessen foods including bacon, and overseas cheeses.
Permitted feeds include commercially prepared pig rations, grain, market fruit and vegetable waste, bread that does not contain meat material, milk, milk products or by-products that originate from a factory or licensed milk-processing premises.
If in doubt, pig owners should not feed leftover food to their pigs.
Food waste can contain viruses that cause diseases in animals and these viruses are often not destroyed by freezing, cooking or curing processes.
Other diseases that can be spread by feeding food waste containing mammalian meat and dairy products to pigs include African swine fever, classical swine fever, Aujeszky’s disease, swine vesicular disease and gastroenteritis.
Australia is fortunate to be free of these and other exotic diseases that could seriously affect livestock industries and trade. Strict quarantine laws prevent the importation of animal products from countries where these diseases are present.
Every year, large quantities of illegally imported animal products are seized by quarantine authorities. Some illegally imported animal products may cross borders undetected.
The banning of prohibited pig feed provides a vital second line of defence because it prevents potentially infected foodstuffs coming into contact with susceptible animals.
When infected with the foot-and-mouth disease virus, pigs produce huge quantities of virus that easily spread to other livestock species.
Victoria is aiming to achieve harmonised legislation around prohibited food waste with states and territories in order to improve overall compliance and awareness of the dangers associated with prohibited pig feed.
Strict laws concerning prohibited feed and its exposure to pigs provide for fines of up to $19,826 and $59,479 respectively under the Livestock Disease Control Act. These penalties apply to a person who supplies swill to another person for pig feeding.
Responsibility can also fall on food businesses, transporters and businesses or organisation disposing of food wastes.
For detailed information on pig feeding restrictions, go to agriculture.vic.gov.au (and search pigs).
There is also a downloadable fact sheet for small-scale and pet pig owners.
