Amid growing fears of the extinction of Sri Lanka’s wild boar population and significant damage to the pork industry, the country’s biosecurity surveillance is under scrutiny. The African swine fever virus is suspected to have entered the country through an unlawful consignment imported during the previous government’s tenure in 2023.
Authorities are considering the drastic measure of culling the entire swine population and destroying pork products to ensure that the country is free from the virus, allowing the industry to start afresh.
The virus has already killed pigs and spread into the wild, raising concerns that the entire wild boar population could be wiped out. Wildlife health authorities are finding it difficult to contain the virus in both protected and unprotected areas.
Initially, the Department of Animal Production and Health reported that the virus likely entered the country via food waste from aircraft and ships arriving at the country’s ports and airports from affected regions. However, there are growing suspicions that the virus may have spread through an unlawful consignment of pork products that was not immediately repatriated to its country of origin. It is believed that some items from this consignment may have leaked into Sri Lanka.
An official from the Ministry of Agriculture stated that a committee of experts would soon be appointed to investigate the validity of this suspicion.
“Initially, we were informed by the Department of Animal Production and Health that the virus might have arrived with food wastes. Now, the suspicion that it came from an unlawful consignment is gaining traction. We will investigate this thoroughly. According to the initial reports, the virus came from food wastes used as animal feed. We now have two possible sources of entry, and we need to verify which one is accurate, especially since imports are prohibited from countries affected by the disease,” the official explained.
Regarding the revival of the pork industry, the official noted that the entire domestic swine population and any remaining pork products must first be disposed of to ensure the country is free from the virus.
“We have some remaining parent stock of animals. If we lose them, we can import more. There are international organizations willing to assist us. We have received unofficial reports about pork products being stored without authorization. We must destroy both the swine population and any pork products,” the official added.
On the size of the industry, the official admitted that it had not been properly regulated, with swine deaths initially concealed from the authorities.
“When the number of deaths increased significantly, it could no longer be hidden,” the official said.
