Starting this week, groups can apply for funding from Ottawa’s 23 million dollar program to prepare for an outbreak of African Swine Fever.

Funding is designed to support projects like biosecurity assessments and improvements, wild pig management, improving existing abattoirs, and swine fever research projects.

Applications from academic institutions, associations, businesses, indigenous groups, provincial and municipal governments will be accepted until the end of November 2023.

The funding will be distributed over 2 years.

So far, there’s been no cases of the deadline swine disease but it has spread across parts of Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.

It’s not a food safety risk, but a single case would close Canada’s borders to pork exports, which accounts for 70 percent of Canadian pork production.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a network of 13 reference and research labs across Canada to perform swine fever testing.
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