ISSUES SURROUNDING ASF TRAVEL BAN

[Anchor Lead]

Pig slaughterhouses have gone into full operation this week despite concerns over the spread of African swine fever. These slaughterhouses can be an infection route of the disease, which would likely trigger calls for a tighter ban on the transport of pigs rather than the current 48-hour restriction. But there are said to reasons for the lifting of the transport ban.

[Pkg]

Livestock vehicles come in and out of a slaughterhouse in Incheon. It was used by six out of nine pig farms that had confirmed cases of African swine fever. But, the slaughterhouse is still in operation. Quarantine measures have been strengthened, instead. Vehicles and personnel are required to undergo thorough sterilization procedures before entering the facility. Vehicles from northern Gyeonggi and other infected regions are completely banned from visiting it. This facility has slaughtered roughly 40 pigs, some two percent of the number of pigs it usually handles.

[Soundbite] (LIVESTOCK FARMER) : "Everyone must be worried. The entire nation must be worried if a similar situation repeats itself."

The culling of pigs cannot be postponed any further, since it is difficult for farms to manage fully-grown pigs if they are not shipped out on time.

[Soundbite] (LIVESTOCK FARMER(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "Pigs grow considerably each day. They eat a lot of feed. A large consumption of feed leads to a deficit."

Pigs are more susceptible to diseases when they are cramped into tight spaces and their feces are not cleaned properly. Nineteen pigs had suffocated to death in Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do Province, as flocks of pigs were shipped out altogether with the lifting of a transport ban.

[Soundbite] DR. CHUNG HYUN-KYU(DODRAM PIG FARMERS' COOPERATIVE) : "Piglets are born and adult pigs are shipped out. This cycle takes place at one farm. Either piglets or adult pigs should be buried and culled if slaughter is not carried out."

The prolonged delays in shipment can also cause pork prices to surge, bringing another challenge to the government. 80,000 pigs were slaughtered at 70 facilities across the nation on the first weekday since the transport ban was removed.