TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - In order to track African swine fever if there is an outbreak, trucks transporting pigs will have to be equipped with a Global Positioning System or GPS, the government said on Wednesday (March 27).
Over the past few months, Taiwan has intensified its checks on pork and other meat products in order to prevent the expansion of the disease from overseas, and particularly from China, into the country. Passengers arriving at airports or harbors and failing to report banned meat can face a fine of NT$200,000 (US$6,480).
As statistical evidence showed that the fever was still in its most active phase, the government announced it would order the installation of GPS on an estimated 1,400 trucks transporting hogs by the end of June, the Central News Agency reported.
Companies who installed the devices before the end of this month could receive subsidies, while those who failed to do so after June would face fines, Council of Agriculture officials said.
For truck transporting live animals, the fines for not having installed a GPS would range from NT$3,000 (US$97) to NT$15,000, while for carcasses, the fines were set at between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, according to CNA.
The government also expressed its displeasure at China lifting restrictions on the transport of hogs in 20 provinces, even though the incidence of African swine fever had not fallen to 1 percent, as should be the case, but only to just under 8 percent in March. Meanwhile, the United States had also found pork mixed in with other meat products imported from China, officials said, indicating that Taiwan still needed to be extra vigilant.
