Japan prepares hike in fines for pork smugglers
Japan is hiking fines for pork smuggling to prevent an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), reports NHK website. Fines for individuals may be tripled to as much as 3 million yen ($27,400), while penalties for companies may be increased by 50 times to a maximum of about $457,000.
The Ministry of Agriculture says officials detected traces of the ASF virus in 86 meat items that were seized after attempts to smuggle them into Japan between October 2018 and December of last year. 11 countries in Asia are currently affected by the disease, with China losing more than 45% of the swine inventory. The ASF crisis in Asia is expected to reach its peak in 2020 and 2021, according to analysts but the real danger resides in getting other regions around the globe contaminated with the virus: such as South America, North America or Australia and New Zealand. The disease is also present in Europe.
Officials in Japan are concerned that the livestock industry will take a severe hit if the virus enters the country.
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