Page 2 - Sept

Pork Industry Calendar of Events
2022
SEP 8-9 – Australian Pig Veterinarians Conference 2022 - Geelong, Victoria. https://www.ava.com.au/education-events/ sponsor-exhibit/about/?eid=EV001309
OCT 18-19 – Animal Health Innovation Asia 2022 - Bangkok, Thailand. https:// animalhealthasia.com/events/animal- health-innovation-asia
OCT 20-22 – Leman China Conference & World Swine Industry Expo - Changsha, China. http://en.lemanchina.com/
2023
JAN 10-12 – Banff Pork Seminar - Banff, Canada. https://www.banffpork.ca/
JUN 4-7 – International Symposium on Emerging and Re-emerging Pig Diseases – IMPACT Forum - Bangkok, Thailand. https:// iserpd2023bangkok.com/
JUN 7-9 – World Pork Expo - Iowa State Fairgrounds, US. https://worldpork.org/
NOV 13-16 – Australasian Pig Science Association (APSA) Conference - Brisbane, Australia. www.apsa.asn.au
How to supply event details: Send all details to Australian Pork Newspaper, PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178, call 07 3286 1833 or email: ben@collins.media
porknews.com.au
07 3286 1833
Well-maintained exclusion fencing can effectively mitigate contact between domestic and feral animal populations. Photo: Sam Oomens, supplied by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions
Role feral pigs play in FMD transmission
WITH the confirmation of foot and mouth disease in Bali in May, many people have questioned what role feral pigs could play in the transmission and control of the disease if an incursion was to occur in Australia.
susceptible livestock will differ between regions.
Close contact
Any spread of FMD into feral pig populations would make the control of the disease in Australia more difficult and could complicate and extend the time period to estab- lish proof of freedom and market access.
Therefore, risk man- agement strategies – in- cluding feral pig popula- tion reduction – should be considered to minimise the potential spread of FMD between susceptible animals.
Well-maintained exclu- sion fencing can effec- tively mitigate contact be- tween domestic and feral animal populations.
The likelihood of feral pigs in Australia to con- tribute to the spread and complicate the control of FMD will depend on how long the virus can survive in our climate and what particular strain of FMD it is.
This study looked at how feral pigs and domestic cattle may interact.
outbreak in feral pigs was modelled to be possible by using a strategic best practice management ap- proach – using combina- tions of aerial shooting, baiting and trapping – es- pecially when this was done in conjunction with cattle control measures.
Feral pigs are more likely to contract FMD by eating uncooked food scraps or food waste that contains meat or has been in contact with meat.
So, a few important host and environmental factors are:
Higher concentrations and movements of cattle were shown to be more significant at maintaining an outbreak.
It was concluded that both cattle and feral pigs should be targeted for control to eradicate the disease as quickly as pos- sible.
Ruminants are more sus- ceptible to FMD infection via aerosols than pigs.
• The distribution and abundance of feral pigs in the region
While the modelling showed that feral pigs slightly exacerbated FMD outbreaks, their role was found to be much less important than domestic cattle.
Further details about the study can be obtained through pubmed.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/25622702/
However, high concen- trations of infected pigs, beyond those at which feral pigs congregate, are needed to generate a plume of virus-containing aerosols.
The National Feral Pig Action Plan has developed a swill feeding factsheet – see the diseases page on the NFPAP website or visit feralpigs.com.au/dis eases/
• Climatic conditions
• Contact rates with other susceptible animals, such as cattle, sheep and goats
The National Feral Pig Action Plan’s stakeholder forum held on Tuesday August 30 featured a pres- entation on this topic by Dr Brendan Cowled from Ausvet, one of the co-au- thors of the study.
There is no evidence showing that feral pigs would be capable of gen- erating epidemiologically important levels of aero- solised virus, where they are present in low densi- ties.
Keeping Australia’s feral animal populations free of exotic diseases, including FMD and African swine fever, is a key priority.
ease in a pastoral setting in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
time as cattle.
The control of an FMD
Access to swill by feral pigs – including food waste, eating infected car- casses and refuse pits.
The modelling indicated that feral pigs at a density of one pig per square kilo- metre of suitable habitat would not be able to sus- tain an FMD epidemic on their own.
It is known that pigs act as ‘amplifiers’ of the virus and can expel FMD virus in their exhaled breath.
More information about swill feeding can be found on Animal Health Aus- tralia’s website.
Modelling has not yet been conducted to cover these different scenarios.
Close contact between susceptible animals such as when they are in close proximity with one an- other and other susceptible animals at water troughs, feeding points, stockyards and milking sheds.
This also applies to minimise risks of trans- mission of other diseases – including African swine fever, leptospirosis, pesti- virus and brucellosis – be- tween domestic and feral animals.
Swill feeding
• Habitat suitability.
Studies have indicated that feral pigs are unlikely to play a significant role in the epidemiology of foot and mouth disease in Aus- tralia, including as a reser- voir of FMD infection.
As long as FMD was controlled in cattle, the disease died out in feral pigs without further ac- tion.
It’s important to re- member the ways FMD can be transmitted from feral animals to domestic animals, as well as from domestic animals to feral animals.
Controlling feral pig populations is even more important with FMD, African swine fever and other exotic diseases present in Australia’s northern neighbours.
The potential role of feral pigs in an FMD out- break has been explored using modelling of the dis-
It also showed that smaller and shorter out- breaks resulted when FMD was controlled in feral pigs at the same
To view his presentation, visit feralpigs.com.au/ stakeholder-forum/
Management activities
by HEATHER CHANNON National Feral Pig Management Co-ordinator
Of course, the densi- ties of both feral pigs and
* continued P4
© Collins Media Pty Ltd – Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.
Page 2 – Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2022
www.porknews.com.au