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LONDON
(UPI) -- A British National Pig Association official says
farmers may soon become so fed up with the consequences
of spreading swine fever that they likely will abandon their
livestock. According to James Black, vice-chairman of the
National Pig Association, thousands of pigs may be left
to roam as the swine fever crisis continues because of the
backup of pigs on farms.
In
an interview with Sky television aired Monday Black said
many farms have reached bursting point with overcrowding
because so many pigs are barred from going to market or
slaughter. "Something is going to happen and I think
they will let loose the pigs," he said.
Already
five farms in East Anglia are officially confirmed as
having the disease and tests are being carried out at
more than 30 others where livestock have shown symptoms.
The
European Union veterinary committee is set to hold a meeting
on Tuesday to decide if there has been any curtailing
of the disease. But even British agricultural experts
fear spread of the disease.
The
EU has banned all exports of British pigs.
The
regional manager of the pig association, Ian Campbell,
said this morning, "It's now very grim. ... Reasonable,
sensible people whom I've known for many years are now
approaching the point where, frankly, they could do anything.
There is a very real danger not just of a human calamity
but of a serious disease risk."
Ministry
of Agriculture Fisheries and Food scientists are awaiting
test results from the pig farms scattered throughout England,
where pigs have shown swine fever symptoms.
Ministry
officials say suspected cases are now as far-flung as
the Isle of Wight, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire,
Sussex, Cheshire and Dorset. Agriculture Minister Nick
Brown held a three-hour meeting with representatives of
the pig industry Sunday to discuss the classical swine
fever outbreak. He has promised English farmers similar
compensation packages to those given to farmers in Germany
and The Netherlands when they had an outbreak a few years
ago.
The
United States earlier announced that it was temporarily
banning imports of live pigs, their semen and pork products
from Britain. Swine fever is a highly infectious viral
disease, which EU specialists say threatens only animals
and poses no threat to humans. The disease is also known
as pig cholera or pig typhoid, the symptoms include high
temperature, thirst, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea.
Afflicted animals will often lie down with their backs
arched and their tails uncurled. Some pigs cough and show
red or purple discoloration. The death rate can be as
high as 90 per cent in afflicted herds, with many of the
animals dying in convulsion.
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