Government efforts to prevent African swine fever from spreading to Taiwan during the Lunar New Year holiday next year would be more challenging than this year, as the virus has infected more nations, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said yesterday.
This year, Taiwan only had to guard against the outbreak in China, but since then, the virus has spread to 10 East Asian nations, he said while inspecting quarantine procedures for parcels from abroad at Chunghwa Post Co’s (中華郵政) mail processing center in Taipei.
Travelers carrying hams, sausages and other cured products from overseas are the largest source of illegal meat products and could affect epidemic prevention efforts during the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 25, said Chen, who is also the head of the central emergency operation center for African swine fever in Taiwan.
Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times
Parcel deliveries are the second-largest source, he added.
Statistics showed that from August last year to October, more than 400 parcels were found to contain illegal meat products, he said.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival period in September, eight times as many parcels were found to have breached regulations, he added.
As the peak season for gift-giving during the Lunar New Year approaches, the government is concerned that Taiwanese or foreign visitors unaware of the situation could order or send meat products via mail, he said.
Once found, such parcels are destroyed or returned, he said.
The Act for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例) also stipulates that e-commerce platforms cannot sell meat products from areas where there has been an outbreak of African swine fever, he said, adding that violators could be fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
Amendments to the act passed by the Legislative Yuan are to take effect on Friday, he said.
From Dec. 14 last year, when the fine for travelers carrying illegal meat products into Taiwan was raised, to the end of last month, the highest number of breaches have come from travelers from China with 560 cases, followed by those from Vietnam with 50, South Korea with 12 and the Philippines with 10, said Tung Hao-te (董好德), head of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine’s Keelung branch.
A total of 632 cases incurred NT$200,000 fines, he said, adding that September had the highest number of violations in a single month, mainly due to the Mid-Autumn Festival gift-giving tradition.
From August last year to October, 7,182.74kg of pork or products containing pork that were not quarantined were found, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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