SHIC, along with the National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, and American Association of Swine Veterinarians, has been working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection on efforts to prevent entry of foreign animal disease vectors to the US through screening and awareness. CBP Office of Field Operations, Acting Executive Director Dina Amato shares that "as part of our enduring mission priorities, CBP is responsible for facilitating lawful trade and protecting revenue, which relies on enhancing public and private partnerships that are integral elements of the agriculture safeguarding continuum." As part of the ongoing process, CBP has recently launched a Public Interdiction Reporting Dashboard.
SHIC applauds CBP’s efforts to make these records publicly available for stakeholders to see the work CBP is doing to keep ASF and other foreign animal diseases out of the country to protect domestic agriculture. Data on the dashboard includes the number of suspected swine products intercepted at the border each fiscal year since 2020 and is updated monthly. The dashboard is available here: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/agriculture-enforcement-statistics.
On the dashboard, CBP states, "Millions of pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables, animal products, and other items enter the United States from other countries every year. Although these items appear to be harmless, there could be hidden threats in that baggage and in those truckloads, trainloads, and containers of fresh items that could seriously threaten U.S. agriculture, our natural resources, and our economy. CBP agriculture specialists and the CBP officers at U.S. ports of entry target, detect, intercept, and thereby prevent the entry of these potential threats before they have a chance to do any harm."
SHIC, launched by the National Pork Board in 2015 solely with Pork Checkoff funding, continues to focus efforts on prevention, preparedness, and response to novel and emerging swine disease for the benefit of US swine health. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. SHIC is funded by America’s pork producers to fulfill its mission to protect and enhance the health of the US swine herd. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Paul Sundberg at psundberg@swinehealth.org.