Dr. John Carr, an International livestock consultant, living in Queensland, Australia, said the African Swine Fever in Asian and some other European countries continue to wreak havoc to the swine industry, and in some instances world-wide.
Dr. Carr said the people he works within China, the farms he looks after, still struggle to set up negative farms, but the Chinese are, indeed, the people he works with being a lot more cautious. We’re setting up farms from known negative sources, and we’re doing a lot more with Eliza and PCR because one of the problems and COVID-19 is somewhat similar, with ASF is getting a good PCR positive response for the first 30 days, but after 30 days, the response will be negative, but the pig is still positive.
“Unlike COVID-19, we have a carrier status, and the textbook says this carrier status is for life. So that’s very interesting.”
Dr. Carr said the pig PCR could test negative today, but PCR positive tomorrow, and then spread it to somebody else.
NOTE *** [The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an important laboratory tool for decades. Subtle changes to enzymes and drastic changes to the detection of a result have occurred in that span, but the tool and its reliability have remained remarkably consistent].
He relies more on Elisa looking for antibodies and PCR, so when setting up new farms in China to rebuild the breeding herd decimated by the ASF, it is best to look at both scenarios. With ASF infection spreading around the world West, India now has officially reported itself being positive. And increasingly, it will run into a wall because of fewer pigs as it moves more into the Muslim world. But all countries seem to have wild pigs, and the disease is quite prevalent in those animals no matter where one goes.
With the fallout from COVID-19 affecting the hog industry in Canada and the United States and Dr. Carr consulting to some of the Canadian and, more specifically, Manitoba hog farms, “Treading water! I owe a few guys a bottle of whiskey because I promised them $300 hogs by now, and obviously, we don’t have $300 hogs. It’s insane. I mean, China desperately needs food.”
He doesn’t understand the pig price is flat, well to some extent, he does. The COVID-19 taking out slaughterhouses caused a backlog, but this is all very local. From a British point of view, and that is where he is from, the price is up substantially.
“And from a Canadian point of view, I’m a veterinarian, so I apologize if I’m overstating the case, but somebody is making a lot of money,” said Dr. Carr. “China needs pork. China’s willingness to pay for pork, but I don’t see the farmers getting paid for the pork. But this is the nature of the industry; this is not the first time that farmers end up getting nothing.”
He said the price of pork is high, and farmers are still going bankrupt. In most cases, he’s talking about other things with his clients, because it’s too depressing to talk about the pig price.
Dr. Carr said if the weanlings are still at $8 and they should be $80. In the UK, weanlings are going for 50, 60, 70 pounds per piglet. The British have managed to avoid closing their slaughterhouses, so are still pumping out the pigs and no oversupply.
One thing frightened him where the Chinese commented that COVID-19 might transmit through the meat.
“And I instantly said that’s bullshit. Possibly on the packaging, if it’s within a day or two. I mean, we know that this COVID-19 will survive three days or so on wood surfaces. And it’s just one of those stories, doesn’t need discussion,” he said. “I mean, meat does not transmit it. I mean, certainly, if I spit on this pork chop and then give it to somebody else, but you can’t blame pork.”
Sometimes with some of these reports, it’s like, “you’re trying to sell newspapers.”
But they forget the massive consequences it can have on the industry if a little rumour becomes a big rumour and then, no proof at all. “And then suddenly like, oh, we can’t import anything because we might import COVID-19.” •
— By Harry Siemens