Weekly livestock and equine news: August 2, 2021

African swine fever confirmed in Dominican Republic pigs, USDA says

USDA confirmed African swine fever in samples collected in pigs in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is restricting pig shipments and mobilizing the military to contain the spread of the disease, which was found in “a small population of backyard pigs,” the agriculture ministry said. The United States and Mexico also tightened airport inspections to prevent travelers from bringing in potentially infected Dominican pork products. Both countries previously blocked Dominican pork, Reuters reports.

Philippines prepares to launch African swine fever vaccine

The Philippines government is preparing to roll out an African swine fever vaccine, which could happen as soon as a month from now, Feed Strategy reports. The country’s Department of Agriculture has been testing two potential vaccines, according to the Philippine News Agency, a government-run bureau. Tests have been carried out at 10 locations in recent months, and Agriculture Secretary William Dar said results will be released at the end of August. Despite the relief a vaccine could provide, a provincial veterinarian said there are fears the new vaccine could spread the disease further.

Scientists develop ‘methane vaccine’ to reduce cow emissions

Scientists in New Zealand have developed what they’re calling a “methane vaccine,” technology that they say could substantially reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from cows. According to Jeremy Hill, chair of the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium and chief science and technology officer at Fronterra, the vaccine aims to introduce antibodies into a cow’s saliva that pass to the animal’s stomach and neutralize the bacteria responsible for methane production. Still, he said, even though scientists developed the antibodies, they still have to figure out how to spur a large enough antibody response to make a difference. Stuff reports.

Heavy rains and flash flooding kill millions of animals in central China

At least 200,000 chickens and up to 6,000 pigs were lost recently in flash flooding in the village of Wangfan, in the central China province of Henan. Heavy rains caused the worst flash flooding in the province in centuries, hitting more than 1,600 large-scale farms and killing more than a million animals, Reuters reports. The province is known for its agriculture, particularly pork production. “In an instant, we now have no way of surviving,” said a Wangfan farmer named Cheng. “We have no other skills. We have no more money to raise pigs again.” He said he faces losses of about 30,000 yuan (about $4,600) and worries he won’t receive government compensation. The flooding has also sparked concerns about new disease outbreaks: Heavy rain and flooding last summer in southern China was blamed for dozens of African swine fever outbreaks.

Federal officials recommend $1 million in fines after nitrogen leak that killed 6 at Georgia poultry plant

Federal workplace safety officials are proposing nearly $1 million in fines against four companies following a January liquid nitrogen leak that killed six workers at a northeast Georgia poultry processing plant, the Associated Press reports in NBC News. Fines range from about $42,000 to about $595,000. The fines were proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA fines are often lowered following informal and formal appeals processes. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has previously said that a newly installed conveyor belt system that carried chicken products into a liquid nitrogen bath malfunctioned, causing the leak.

Despite commitments to improve protections for wild horse adoptions, advocates say U.S. officials need to do more

U.S. officials who are trying to adopt out wild horses captured on public land say they’re tightening protections to guard against the illegal resale of the animals for slaughter. But advocates say the government needs to do more, including ending incentive payments for adoptions, the Associated Press reports. The Bureau of Land Management’s deputy director for programs, Nada Wolff Culver, said the agency “will begin to make additional compliance visits post-adoption, bring more scrutiny to potential adopters and increase warnings to sale barns about the risks of illegally selling wild horses and burros, among other steps.” Advocates said they’ve documented the reselling of horses for slaughter for nearly a decade, and they say the practice won’t end until the agency ends the $1,000 incentive payments it’s offered in recent years to encourage adoptions.