TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - As a dead pig found on a Kinmen beach tested positive for African swine fever, the Council of Agriculture said Thursday it would take measures to protect the island’s 11,000 hogs, as well as ban the transport of pork products from Kinmen to the rest of Taiwan for 14 days.

Kinmen lies close to the Chinese province of Fujian, and it was not possible to determine whether the dead animal had been raised on the island or had drifted ashore from China, the Central News Agency reported.

The pig had been found last Monday, but test results showing it positive for the contagious swine fever only emerged on Thursday, according to the authorities.

The animals at the farm closest to the find had been checked and all tested negative, but the review will now be expanded to include all 68 farms in Kinmen and their total of 11,000 pigs.

Any animals found to show abnormal behavior, such as a lack of appetite, will be subjected to further tests, and if those are positive for African swine fever, animals will be culled, farms disinfected, and transportation bans will be imposed, the authorities said.

In that event, the government would also have to inform the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that African swine fever had broken out in Taiwan, CNA reported. Even if the tests turned out negative, OIE could still be informed in order to understand the situation in East Asia.

Taiwan has recently toughened up its measures against African swine fever as the disease expanded across China. The maximum fine for bringing in meat products from affected areas was raised to NT$200,000 (US$6,489), with repeat offenders facing a fine of NT$1 million. Despite the heavy fines, inspectors at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have still found offenders on a daily basis.