The Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has suspended pork imports from Thailand and Vietnam due to outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in both countries.
According to a notification posted on Wednesday from the ministry’s website, the Directorate of Livestock and Fisheries forbids the importation of pork, including live pigs and processed goods from Thailand and Vietnam to Laos.
The agency will prohibit and monitor unlawful imports at international border crossings, local border crossings and customs border crossings. Moreover, smuggled or illegally imported pork into Laos must be destroyed.
Individuals who breach the restrictions may either receive a warning record or face legal consequences.
Meanwhile, the Lao government has encouraged Lao farmers to monitor their ill animals and slaughter them if they are proven to be infected in order to prevent the disease from spreading.
ASF reached 170 communities in 57 districts in Laos in 2019. According to the study, the outbreak infected and culled 18,774 pigs, while another 6,836 were killed.
ASF cannot be transmitted from animals to humans, but it may be disseminated by humans.
The animal plague kills nearly all of the pigs and wild boars it infects. High temperatures are required to eradicate the virus, which may live in frozen meat for up to three years and dried meat for up to one year.
