Wild pigs added to ASF surveillance program

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This article was published 31/07/2024 (412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A national early detection surveillance program that monitors African swine fever in Canadian hogs announced Tuesday that it has expanded its diagnostic screening to include invasive wild pig sampling as well.

The CanSpotASF program — a collaborative initiative under Animal Health Canada, the Canadian Pork Council and Canadian Meat Council, the provincial swine industry including the Manitoba Pork Council, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and several other organizations — is encouraging wildlife officers, trappers, veterinarians and others who come across wild pig populations to submit invasive wild pig sample materials whenever possible.

“The CanSpotASF program already works with approved animal diagnostic laboratories and with provincial and federal abattoirs to ensure we can detect ASF early in commercial swine,” said Erica Charlton, emergency management division director at Animal Health Canada (AHC), in a press release. “Expanding to collect invasive wild pig samples is another step to ensure we can detect the African swine fever virus sooner to avoid any spread in Canada.”

ASF testing by approved laboratories on eligible cases will be paid for by the provinces in which the invasive wild pigs are found, and in some circumstance by the federal government.

“Expanding the CanSpotASF program to include wild pig sampling is a crucial step,” said René Roy, chair of the Canadian Pork Council, in the press release. “Early detection through this comprehensive surveillance allows Canada to act swiftly, minimizing the risk of ASF outbreaks and protecting the livelihoods of farmers and the stability of our national economy. This initiative underscores the importance of collaboration and vigilance in maintaining the health of Canada’s swine herds.”

Groups like Squeal on Pigs in Manitoba have already been making efforts at ASF surveillance and working with the program. Since 2023, Squeal on Pigs has been sending samples from captured wild pigs for testing, working with a lab in Winnipeg to help move the CanSpotASF program forward and expand testing to wild pigs on a more official basis.

“There were a number of provinces that were participating in sending the samples,” Squeal on Pigs co-ordinator Dr. Wayne Lees told the Sun. “Because the test protocols have to be verified. You can’t just assume what works in one type of animal will work in another. And so we were working with the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg to provide them with samples so that they can validate their test protocols. And now it’s expanded to officially be testing wild pigs from across the country.”

African swine fever causes severe disease in pigs, with nearly 100 per cent of infected animals dying from certain strains of the virus.

Currently ASF has not been found in Canada. Animal Health Canada states that if it were, the disease would have a devastating effect on swine herds and the pork industry — not to mention the Canadian economy. Early detection of ASF is crucial to quickly contain and minimize any potential impacts.

“ASF is a really devastating disease for the swine industry,” Lees said. “Countries that have had African swine fever show up are severely restricted in their ability to export pork products. And our pork export market is extremely important for Manitoba, and for the country.”

For this reason, expanding the surveillance program to wild pigs is necessary, as these animals are just as susceptible to the ASF virus as their domestic counterparts.

The problem with African swine fever, says Lees, is that it can circulate in a sub-acute form in which the pigs may not die very quickly, giving them the opportunity to spread it to other animals.

“So for wild pigs that are roaming around the countryside, it’s a real problem if they’re carrying it.”

Since the start of 2024 to the end of May, Squeal on Pigs has has submitted 60 samples for analysis. While not all pigs that are captured are suitable for testing, particularly if a pig is too small, like a fetus or a piglet, Lees says every captured adult pig is sampled. He says the inclusion of wild pigs into the ASF surveillance program was a natural extension of Animal Health Canada’s mandate.

“It’s very good thing, because it’s one of the ways that we can demonstrate that we actually don’t have African swine fever in the country,” Lees said “It’s a good monitoring tool.”

Wild pigs themselves pose a significant threat to rural Manitoba, and the area around Spruce Woods is a particular hot spot in this province. An invasive species, the Eurasian wild boar — which has taken root in western Manitoba — is known to contaminate water sources, damage natural habitats and agricultural crops, and according to squealonpigsmb.org, can spread up to 89 different diseases to commercial and small-scale livestock.

Squeal on Pigs advocates trapping wild pigs rather than hunting them because trapping is less disruptive to a group and doesn’t spook them as easily, thus driving them further into hiding. Lees encourages anyone who sees one to contact them immediately so that a team can assess the population and take measures to remove them.

Thus far, Squeal on Pigs has been successful in removing several hundred wild pigs from the Manitoba ecosystem. In 2022 the organization removed 122 wild pigs, 127 in 2023 and, as of the end of May, they had removed 94 this year.

“I think we’ll exceed our normal capture numbers,” Lees said, “because we’re really focusing our efforts on Spruce Woods area … and all the surrounding areas to see if we can get rid of that population that seems to be resident there.”

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