The Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security (MAFS) through the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has issued a ban on the transfer of live pigs between states for the purpose of curbing the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) disease epidemic through a letter of instruction from the Director General of DVS dated 10 January 2023.
MAFS affirmed that this was in line with the Malaysian Veterinary Protocol (PVM) in enforcing movement controls or transfer of the livestock in order to reduce the risk of the ASF disease virus spreading.
However, State level DVS can consider applications from relevant parties in states where there are cases of the ASF outbreak, in order to move live pigs to slaughter houses located in other states by meeting the conditions set by DVS, without compromise.
Pig farmers in the source states need to ensure the livestock in question is confirmed to be disease-free through laboratory tests and clinical surveillance carried out by DVS.
The animal status declaration form (for pigs) needs to be completed by private veterinarians, farms or owners of the animals, the owners of the animal products and premises, to obtain a pig farm’s code which is to be attached is ear notching to ensure the number of livestock transferred is the same as the number in the permit. It’s also to ensure the vehicle number carrying the livestock are the same as in the transfer permit and not shared with other farms.
The approval of the permit is for the purpose of slaughter only and must comply with all the general conditions of livestock transfer between states, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The ministry issued the statement in response to a recent question raised by Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng on the livestock transfers.
Accordingly, the steps taken by DVS are in line with the prescribed procedures to control the transmission of ASF disease and to guarantee the level of food safety.
Meanwhile, the ministry said domestic pork supply is sufficient until June 2023 based on DVS projections.
