Squeal on Pigs develops African swine fever plan

The first plan to manage a potential outbreak of African swine fever in wild pigs here in Canada has been developed by Squeal on Pigs in Manitoba.

The organization created an emergency response plan that outlines tactics, such as trapping pigs, and surveilling them with drones, co-ordinator of the project, Wayne Lees, told the Sun in a recent interview. The plan is in its “final stages,” and is expected to be distributed to all other provinces to build a foundation for their response plans in the next two months, he said.

The plan was created to give a baseline in case the highly-contagious African swine fever were to arise in known populations of wild pigs in Manitoba, he said. The plan enhances a host of tactics that are already used by Squeal on Pigs in its attempt to eradicate wild pigs in the province.

“Whenever you have a disease outbreak, you do all the things you would do during normal times but you do them much quicker and in a way that would limit the spread of infection,” Lees said. “Its like any prevention, you have to prepare for the worst.”

If the disease became an issue in the province, it would “immediately stop trade” from Manitoba, which exports 90 per cent of pork it produces, Lees said.

The pork industry contributes about $2.3 billion to Manitoba’s GDP per year, according to Joey Dearborn, Manitoba Pork communications manager.

The disease can be spread from wild pigs to domestic pigs, but it cannot be spread to humans, according to the federal government’s information page about African swine fever. The disease is reportedly not a food safety risk.

Lees said the emergency response plan includes actions such as trapping pigs, detecting pig carcasses with dogs, conducting ground searches and door to door interviews, and communicating with the public. Thermal imaging drones are considered key to the strategy, he said.

The plan includes deploying extra resources, such as additional drones, and pulling in more people, he said.

Lees discussed the plan at the Canadian Wild Pigs Summit 2026, which was held at the Keystone Centre last week. About three dozen people attended the panel discussion on Day 1 one of the summit, and roughly 100 attended online.

A thermal imaging drone was on hand at the Keystone Centre, and was showcased for guests.

Cassidy Klima, executive director of Animal Health Canada, who hosted a panel about the status of wild pig control efforts at the summit, said that the emergency response plan is useful, “Simply because of the complexity of what it takes to respond” to an outbreak of disease.

Squeal on Pigs’ plan lays the groundwork for many different organizations to co-ordinate, she said.

“These plans are like the glue, the map, so everybody can expect what everyone else roles are,” Klima said. “It acts as a real strong foundation.”

With the emergency response framework expected to be distributed across the country in the near future, Klima said that the work done in Manitoba will let other jurisdictions hit the ground running on their own emergency plans.

“It gives everyone a head start so they don’t have to start from scratch,” Klima said. “It is a real big benefit.”

Technological advancements are changing the way that the country plans wild animal control, she said. In terms of drones, she noted that the technology provides a less-invasive way to monitor wild pigs, and increases the power that each staff member has when needed.

“I would say technology is making things like this possible,” she said. “How many people would it take to surveil a 1km square area, versus a drone?”

Technological development is also helping to catch pigs that become “wise” to existing control efforts. The population of pigs that remain in the wild — despite trapping efforts — are likely to be tougher to catch, she said.

“So thats another point where the technology is getting important,” she said. “Its a bit of an arms race with them as they get smarter and evolve to our strategies.”

The next steps in developing the emergency response plan in Manitoba is to finish how-to lists, including how to set up a trap for pigs, and how to use precautions when flying drones, Lees said. The plan took about a year to be built. It was prepared by Squeal on Pigs with help from Serecon Inc., and with consultation from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The plan was prepared for the Manitoba Minister of Agriculture, Squeal on Pigs, and the Manitoba Pork Council. The panel discussion on day one of the pigs summit included representatives from Sask., Ont., Alta., N.W.T., and Que.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com