Spain has confirmed its first outbreak of African swine fever in more than three decades, a development that raises serious concerns for Europe’s pig sector and heightens the UK’s vigilance against the virus.
Two wild boar found dead on 26 November near the Autonomous University of Barcelona tested positive for ASF, with confirmation issued by the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Madrid.
The animals were discovered roughly one kilometre apart, suggesting the virus may have already circulated within the local wild boar population before detection.
Spanish authorities have notified the EU and the World Organisation for Animal Health and implemented immediate containment measures around the site.
Farmers are being urged to “implement all necessary biosecurity and surveillance measures on pig and wild boar farms, as well as during animal transport”.
Officials have also reiterated the legal obligation to report any suspect cases nationwide while investigations into the source of the incursion continue.
The timing is especially damaging for Spain — the EU’s largest pork producer and exporter — which has endured months of falling prices.
Although Spain operates a regionalisation agreement with China, meaning export restrictions can be limited to affected areas, the development is expected to disrupt trade flows and could push surplus pigs onto the wider EU market, further depressing prices.
ASF is now present in wild boar and, in some instances, domestic pigs across 13 EU member states. The virus spreads primarily through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated material, including vehicles, feed, clothing and meat products.
It is highly resilient in the environment and in pork products, making cross-border transmission difficult to control. Since its arrival in the EU, countries such as Belgium, Sweden and the Czech Republic have managed to eradicate ASF only through strict surveillance and aggressive containment of infected wild boar populations.
The UK remains officially free of the disease, but Defra maintains that the most likely route of introduction is through infected pork carried by travellers or imported illegally.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has described the risk level as constant and real, citing the virus’s ability to survive for months in untreated meat.
In recent years, Border Force and local authorities have seized small quantities of ASF-positive or illegally imported pork, underscoring persistent weaknesses in passenger compliance and enforcement capacity.
UK pig producers have long warned that ASF entering the country would have catastrophic consequences for domestic production, trade and animal health infrastructure.
National Pig Association (NPA) chief executive Lizzie Wilson urged Defra to ensure no potentially infected products from Spain enter the UK and called for renewed focus on high-risk points of entry. She said the government must finally provide the resources needed to monitor and seize illegal imports at locations such as Dover.
The UK pig herd, valued at around £1.6 billion, has faced sustained volatility in recent years following labour shortages, rising input costs and disease pressures.
Sector leaders argue that the arrival of ASF would result in mass culling, immediate export losses and long-term damage to market confidence.
While the UK has strengthened some biosecurity messaging and expanded the list of illegal items that can be seized at the border, industry groups continue to call for more robust checks, improved detection capacity and tougher enforcement against personal imports of meat from high-risk regions.
With Spain now facing its first ASF incursion since 1994, the UK industry is pressing for swift, visible action to prevent the virus crossing its borders.
