SARAWAK today declared its northernmost administrative division, Limbang a disease control area for the African swine fever (ASF).

Limbang is a strip of land sandwiched between ASF-infected Sabah to the north and tiny Brunei Darussalam to the south.

Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah who is also the state minister for modernisation of agriculture, signed the order under Section 35 (1) (b) of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999.

This means pig farmers in the division are now required to step up vigilance on the health of their livestock and biosecurity, and discourage visitors to their farms.

The pig farmers are to immediately report any abnormal mortality on their farms to the the divisional veterinary office.

They have also received a list of dos and don’ts from the state Veterinary Department.

The farmers are advised not to feed the pigs table scraps or swill feeding and move live pigs, pork or pork products in and out of Limbang without permission.

Pork products may also not be brought into Limbang.

State Veterinary Services director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud said in a statement that all transporters from outside Sarawak must declare pork products in their possession to the veterinary officer stationed at the state’s entry points.

He said pork products moved or sold in contravention of the order will be seized or destroyed without compensation to the owner.

He said breaching the ban could result in a RM1,000 fine.

Last Monday, the state banned the import of pigs, pork and pork products from Sabah with immediate effect, after eight of 13 pigs in the district of Pitas were found to be infected with the ASF. – February 26, 2021.