UK: NPA urges government to address border control failings
DPHA has seized nearly 150 tonnes of illegally imported pigmeat since September 2022
Along with many others across the industry, the NPA has been concerned for some time about the gaping holes in our border controls that are allowing large volumes of illegally imported meat into the country without sufficient checks.
Before Christmas, Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) revealed that it had seized 147 tonnes of illegally imported meat since new rules designed to keep African swine fever (ASF) out of the country were introduced in September 2022. This was despite DPHA staff only providing 20% operational coverage at the port, due to budgetary pressures, highlighting that the headline figure represents just the tip of the iceberg.
DPHA has been battling against cuts to its budget for this vital work for more than a year, and even though the current government initially indicated that this was a ‘priority’, the situation remains unresolved.
Furthermore, the industry continues to express concerns over flaws in the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) for commercial imports, in light of evidence that large volumes of illegal meat imports are easily bypassing its formal checks.
NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: "News of Germany’s foot-and-mouth outbreak should be a massive wake-up call to government.
“We have been living under the shadow of an ASF outbreak for many years, and we now face the threat of a devastating FMD outbreak, as the virus circulates in a country that exports thousands of tonnes of pigmeat to the UK each year.
“We have learned over the past two years how criminal gangs are using the UK’s weak border controls to bring in products, unchecked, from regions where ASF is rife and from where exports are banned, including Romania. This is a disaster waiting to happen for the UK livestock sector.
“We urge the government to act now – and to work with DPHA and other key ports and airports to ensure they have the resources needed to keep potentially-infected meat and products of animal origin out of the UK and act as a proper deterrent to criminal gangs.
“We welcome confirmation from the government that it has banned imports of live animals and meat products from Germany, but it is vital that these measures are now actively enforced.
"Germany’s domestic market is going to come under huge pressure, so some unscrupulous people might be seeking alternative markets, as has been the case in Romania.
"It is also important that the ban is properly communicated to the public.
"The relatively small cost of properly resourcing border checks at our ports pales into insignificance against the vast cost to our livestock industry and the taxpayer of an outbreak of a notifiable disease like FMD or ASF.
"We would also like to see the government carry out a proper review of the BTOM to address the glaring issues that have been identified over how it is currently operating".
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