May 12, 2009

Nearly 500 hogs have been culled from the Alberta, Canada hog farm which has been under quarantine since April 28 due to concerns about the AH1N1 flu virus, government officials confirmed Monday (May 11).

The cull was to relieve concerns about overcrowding on the farm, but also highlights the question of what will be done with the animals once the quarantine is lifted.

Close to 500 hogs were culled from the roughly 2,200 head farrow-to-finish hog operation May 8, confirmed Dr. Gerald Hauer, Alberta's Chief Provincial Veterinarian. He said the decision to cull the herd was due to overcrowding on the farm.

Hauer pointed out in an operation of that size, about 100 pigs go to market every week and a hundred more are born to take their place. With the quarantine in place there are no longer any animals leaving the farm, while more continue to be born. "It would become an animal welfare issue if not taken care of," said Hauer.

Dr. Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the situation "was backing up the animals in the farm quite severely." He said the CFIA will now be testing the herd on a weekly basis for the presence of the virus.

"If we can put together two negative tests in a row, that will be the trigger for us to release the animals," said Clark.

The culled animals were rendered and disposed of and will not make their way into the food supply, said Hauer. While the rendering process would effectively eliminate any signs of the virus, the only option was to dispose of the animals with the farm still under quarantine.

"The science tells us one thing . . . but we also recognize that there are perception issues we have to manage," said Hauer. From a scientific perspective, once the quarantine is lifted there would be no problems with eating pork from that farm, he said. But he said the perception may be different.

"Our hope is that people will let the science prevail, and let that influence their decisions," said Hauer. He added "Alberta pork is perfectly safe. Yes, we have one herd that is under quarantine, but once the disease is gone from that farm it will be lifted and everything will be fine."

Martin Rice, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council, said he did not expect to see any problems from domestic customers, but noted that some foreign customers could be "a little picky."

Rice noted a number of international borders are now closed to Canadian or Alberta pork, including China and Russia. He said the industry and government are already working with their trading partners to reopen those borders. Rice said the Philippines has started accepting Canadian pork and South Korea is also loosening its restrictions.

When the quarantine is lifted, the owner will be free to pursue normal marketing procedures, said Rice, although he said it remains to be seen what the processing industry will do.

To date, there have been about 284 reported cases of AH1N1 flu in people in Canada, according to news reports. The Alberta hog farm remains the only case where animals were reported to have contracted the virus.

Clark said the CFIA continues to monitor the situation and is hopeful the precautions being taken will keep the AH1N1 flu from infecting any other herds.