Dogs tapped for swine fever watch
Credit to Author: EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ| Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:20:01 +0000
Nearly P100 million is being spent by the government on trained sniffing dogs to detect meat and meat products in all major Philippine airports as part of its campaign against the entry of African Swine Fever (ASF) into the country.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has already spent P27 million for a one-year contract for 15 trained dogs from provider Great Chien Ventures Corp., Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.
Starting on April 30 this year, an initial K9s will be deployed in the country’s major airports, including Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark International Airport.
“Fifteen trained dogs will be stationed in major airports of the country… with international flights coming from China and [other ASF-hit countries],” Piñol said in a recent interview.
Fourty more meat-sniffing dogs are also being trained to boost the watch against the threat of ASF, which recently hit Cambodia and Vietnam. Erring tourists will be penalized with a fine of not less than P200,000, Piñol said.
ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease of domestic and wild pigs of all ages. There are no effective preventive vaccines or cures. The mortality rate is as high as 100 percent.
To protect the local swine industry, all quarantine groups in seaports and airports across the country were instructed since October last year to heighten monitoring and surveillance, ensure footbaths in all entry points and hang streamers to raise public awareness on the ASF.
The multiple outbreaks and rapid spread of ASF in China has led to the spread of the virus among Southeast Asian nations. A ban on the importation of domestic and wild pigs and their products including pork meat and semen is currently imposed on 15 countries with unresolved cases of ASF.
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