Japan lifted a ban on beef and pork shipments from all farms in southern Miyazaki prefecture, normalizing domestic trade three months after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth led to the largest cull in the nation’s history.
Livestock shipments from the second-largest hog-farming prefecture can resume, the Miyazaki government said today in a statement. No cases of the disease have been found in the past three weeks after about 288,370 animals were culled to contain it since April 20, when the first case was reported, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The resumption will boost meat supply in Japan, potentially curbing demand for imported pork and beef, as Miyazaki is also the third-largest farming region for beef cattle. Foot-and-mouth is one of the most contagious livestock diseases and can have high mortality rates in young animals, according to the Paris- based World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE.
“I feel relieved as the situation in Miyazaki has returned to normal,” Agriculture Minister Masahiko Yamada told reporters in Tokyo today. “We will offer various support for the prefecture to rebuild livestock farming.”
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