Pig industry leaders called on the UK government to protect the sector after Spain confirmed its first case of African swine fever (ASF) since 1994.
The disease was confirmed in two wild boar – found dead approximately 1km apart – near the Autonomous University of Barcelona in November. Further suspected cases were then discovered near the Catalan city.
Spain is the world’s second biggest pork exporter – and the UK is a major destination for shipments. The UK imported some 56,000t of Spanish pigmeat products during the first nine months of 2025 – an 11% increase on 202.
The ASF outbreak saw Defra announce that all fresh pork and other affected products from Spain would be held at UK border control posts until further notice as it continued to monitor the situation and keep all measures under review.
Further conditions
Trade from outside restricted zones later resumed, with pigmeat products from within restricted areas subjected to further conditions and checks. Porcine semen was restricted from the entire territory of Spain.
National Pig Association chief executive Lizzie Wilson said it was vital to keep ASF out of the UK. It government must ensure its systems were up to scratch, so banned pigmeat products from Spain could get past UK borders, she added.
“The news from Spain is of real concern. Obviously, this could have a huge impact on Spanish pig producers, with a knock-on effect on the wider EU and UK pork sectors, if Spain faces significant restrictions on exports over a prolonged period.
Human role
“This incident also starkly highlights the huge threat posed by the ASF virus – and its continued ability to pop up anywhere at any time, in this case, as many times before, with humans undoubtedly playing a significant role.”
There was a lot of concern over the government’s handling of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Germany earlier last year as banned commercial products reportedly continued to enter the UK, said Ms Wilson.
“We also continue to call on the government to provide sufficient funding for port health authorities and Border Force for the vital work they do in intercepting the huge volumes of illegal meat entering the country, particularly at Dover.”
‘Soft borders’
Pork products often originated from ASF-infected parts of Europe, with criminal gangs targeting the UK because of its reputation for soft border controls. But a UK outbreak of the disease was not inevitable if everybody played their part.
“The government – as various committees of MPs have stressed – must weigh the relatively small resource required against the huge cost of a notifiable disease outbreak like ASF or foot-and-mouth,” said Ms Wilson.
She added: “We urge all parts of the pig sector – producers, processors, hauliers and the allied industries – to collectively ensure the strictest biosecurity standards are adhered to at all times.”