The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will impose up to 10 million won in fines on farms that violate quarantine rules to block livestock infectious diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) in winter. Farms that faithfully carry out quarantine will receive benefits, such as exemptions from culling.
On the 24th, the ministry said it has designated from next month through February next year as the "special winter livestock infectious disease quarantine period" and will push core tasks such as intensive inspections in high-risk areas, strengthening farm accountability for quarantine, and minimizing culling.
Recently, cases of AI occurring regardless of the migratory season for wild birds have been increasing. This summer as well, as the northward migration of wild birds was delayed, confirmed cases appeared in June, and this month, outbreaks were confirmed earlier than in previous years. Accordingly, the government will focus its quarantine capacity on blocking major transmission factors such as wild birds and vehicles.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, it will expand the number of survey sites for wild bird habitats from 175 to 200, and during the February–March northward migration period in particular, it will increase surveys to twice a month. For large layer farms that raise 100,000 or more birds, the interval for precision testing will be significantly strengthened from once per quarter to once every two weeks.
In addition, starting Jan. 23 next year, poultry integration business operators (91 companies), such as broilers and meat ducks, will be required to take responsibility for the quarantine management of their contract farms. If they do not comply, fines of up to 50 million won will be imposed.
When an outbreak occurs, nationwide simultaneous disinfection will be carried out, along with shortening inspection intervals by type of livestock, and pre-shipment inspections will be expanded to all types. However, as a rule, culling will be limited to farms within a 500-meter radius of the outbreak farm, and some types may be excluded if the risk of transmission is low.
Excellent farms that strictly follow quarantine will be granted the authority to be excluded from culling, while violations such as poor CCTV management or failure to install disinfection facilities will be subject to fines of up to 10 million won. Choi Jeong-rok, Director General of the ministry's Quarantine Policy Bureau, emphasized, "When rules are followed, there should be incentives, and when they are broken, there should be penalties to enhance quarantine effectiveness."
Foot-and-mouth disease quarantine will also be strengthened. The vaccination period has been moved up from October to September, and antibody testing will be expanded for vulnerable animals such as cattle 12 months old or younger. If foot-and-mouth disease occurs, the first outbreak farm will undergo full culling, while additional outbreak farms will target only positive animals.
For African swine fever (ASF), the level of control will be raised, focusing on Gyeonggi and border areas. In cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, additional traps to capture wild boars will be installed, and more disinfection vehicles will be deployed.
Director General Choi said, "We will implement winter quarantine measures without gaps to prevent the occurrence and spread of livestock diseases," and asked, "Farms should also strictly comply with basic rules such as access control, disinfection, and wearing protective clothing."