African Swine Fever (ASF)

Be prepared: ASF contingency planning

Why Scotland can’t be complacent

The UK has never had ASF and has far fewer wild boar than mainland Europe. In Germany, ASF has stayed almost entirely in wild boar, partly because nearly all German pigs are kept in sealed indoor units. The UK is different: around half of breeding pigs are kept outdoors, and most growing pigs are on straw. These systems are much harder to seal off from the outside world.

Spain’s recent outbreak in wild boar was a wake-up call. Pig prices fell below the cost of production almost overnight, tens of thousands of pigs were caught by movement restrictions, and abattoirs faced intensive cleaning and designation. The industry was not prepared, and the same could happen here.

Clinical signs can take up to 15 days to appear after a low dose of virus, and sometimes the only sign is a single sudden death. Early recognition and reporting protects the whole industry.

What happens if ASF is suspected

1. You report it to APHA, and restrictions are placed on your farm straight away, by phone, then in writing.
2. APHA vets visit to investigate and take samples. A temporary control zone may be put around the farm.
3. Restrictions stay in place until disease is ruled out.

If ASF is confirmed

• The Chief Veterinary Officer confirms the outbreak, and the UK loses its disease-free status.
• All pigs on the infected premises are culled, followed by cleansing and disinfection. All manure and wash water must be collected and treated.
• Movements to and from the farm are traced backwards and forwards.
• Control zones are set up around the infected premises, and activities that could spread disease, such as shows and exports, are banned.

Control zones and movement licences

Restrictions cover not just live pigs but meat, by-products, manure and genetic material. Moves are only allowed under an APHA licence:

• General licences don’t need an application. They cover lower-risk moves such as pigs to slaughter or feed deliveries, but may not be available early in an outbreak.
• Specific licences must be applied for. They are risk-assessed, often cover a single move, take around 5 working days, and may be refused.

Being caught in a neighbour’s zone can create welfare problems within days if pigs can’t move. Experience from bird flu outbreaks shows that zones stay in place longer when it’s hard to trace people and vehicles, so good records shorten restrictions for everyone.

Make a plan now

Don’t wait for an outbreak. A written contingency plan makes it easier to work with your vet and APHA, speeds up the response, and reduces cost and stress. The same plan works for any notifiable disease, not just ASF. Your plan should include:

1. How to report a notifiable disease, and a checklist for if your farm is under suspicion
2. Key contacts and your farm’s location
3. Buildings and normal stock numbers
4. Local area maps and detailed site plans
5. Storage capacity for feed, water and manure
6. Biosecurity procedures, and cleaning and disinfection at the farm entrance
7. What you would do under movement restrictions – stock, waste, destocking, cleaning and restocking

Keep your plan and records somewhere easy to find, ideally in digital form.

If your farm is under suspicion: while you wait for APHA

• Lock the gates. No one comes or goes.
• Mark out the unit boundary, with temporary fencing if needed
• Refresh foot dips, add extra ones at entrances, and have a pressure washer and appropriate Defra-approved disinfectant ready to disinfect any vehicle
• Record current pig numbers
• Have visitor records for at least the last 21 days ready
• Contact anyone due to deliver, such as the feed company, and stop deadstock collections
• Make arrangements for family members

Prepare your farm

• Fewer entry points: keep the number of places vehicles and people can get onto the unit to a minimum, with cleaning and disinfection at each one.
• Delivery point: set up a general delivery point away from the pigs, so suppliers and visitors don’t need to go near them.
• Biosecurity zones: think of the farm as layers – the rest of the farm, a general area, an intermediate area, then the pig housing or fields. Control movement at each step.
• Building entrances: review how people get into every pig building.
• Outdoor units: actively discourage wildlife and keep vehicles and visitors away from the fields.
• Records and PPE: keep accurate records of everyone and every animal on site and have access to enhanced PPE.

See our Biosecurity page for more practical measures.

Abattoirs: during an outbreak

Abattoirs in or near an infected area may need to be designated to handle pigs from restricted zones. That means slaughtering them separately, fully cleaning and disinfecting lairage in between, and keeping meat and by-products strictly separated. Abattoirs can prepare now through pre-designation (see Abattoirs: preparing in advance above).

Further resources

• National Pig Association – ASF guidance for producers
• Disease control strategy for African and classical swine fever in Great Britain

This section summarises the ASF Contingency Planning workshop for the Scottish pig industry (March 2026), delivered by Livetec Systems Ltd and funded by the Scottish Government.