The Council of Agriculture (COA) said Thursday that it plans to raise the cash rewards offered to individuals who alert authorities when pig farmers fail to abide by the laws pertaining to swine feed.
In Taiwan, the relevant regulations state that kitchen waste must be steam- heated at no less than 90 degrees Celsius for about an hour, which will kill off the African swine fever virus if it is in the food.
Pig farmers who fail to comply risk a fine of NT$30,000 (US$1,073) in the first instance, the COA's Department of Animal Industry said, citing the Feed Control Act.
For repeat offenders, the fines will increase progressively to NT$200,000, NT$500,000, NT$1 million, NT$2 million and NT$3 million, the department said.
Individuals who provide authorities with information leading to the fining of pig farmers are eligible to receive a cash reward equivalent to 20 percent of the fine, the department said.
Currently, the total maximum cash reward that could be paid to an individual is NT$600,000 per year, but the COA's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said Thursday that it plans to raise that amount to NT$1.2 million per year, with effect from Aug. 29.
Furthermore, the bureau said, it plans to offer pig farmers a cash reward equivalent to 40 percent of the fine if they provide authorities with information about other farmers who are violating the swine feed rules.
The aim is to encourage more people to actively help in the prevention efforts against African swine fever (ASF) and to deter unscrupulous farmers who refuse to comply with the law on pig feed, COA chief Chen Chi-chung (???) said.
There are 6,400 pig farms in Taiwan, 676 of which use kitchen waste as feed for their animals, according to the COA.
Taiwan has been on high alert against ASF, for fear that the virus could cripple its high-value pig farming industry, and it maintains a ban on imports of pork products from countries where there have been ASF outbreaks, including Vietnam.
On Wednesday, however, Taiwan authorities said that the African swine fever virus had been found in four of 19 food items they had seized recently in a random check of grocery stores, restaurants and food stands nationwide.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel