The pig sector has demanded an immediate crackdown after MPs uncovered shocking evidence of illegal meat flooding into the UK, including an entire pig hidden in a suitcase.
The National Pig Association (NPA) has called on ministers to act “comprehensively and without delay” after a cross-party committee of MPs exposed the scale of illegal meat entering the UK and branded current controls “toothless”.
The report from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee warns that “alarming amounts of meat and dairy products are now being illegally imported into Great Britain for both personal consumption and sale”.
During a fact-finding visit to the Port of Dover in March, MPs were told by one worker that they had “found an entire pig stuffed inside a suitcase; its legs cut off badly so that it could fit inside”.
The report criticises the government’s reliance on “intelligence led checks”, noting there is no clear, publicly available data on the scale of smuggling or where illegal meat is ending up. It also condemns the absence of meaningful deterrents, calling for fines and prosecutions of repeat offenders.
MPs described the 20% operational coverage for Dover Port Health Authority’s (DPHA) anti-meat smuggling operations as “insufficient”, and urged Defra to repair relations with DPHA and Border Force. They also recommended “repurposing” the Bastion Point facilities at Dover to strengthen enforcement.
The NPA provided evidence to the inquiry and is cited in the report. Chief executive Lizzie Wilson welcomed the committee’s findings.
“This is a detailed report, informed by a range of sources, that lays bare the government’s inadequate steps to protect UK livestock from potentially devastating notifiable diseases like African swine fever and foot and mouth disease,” she said.
“We thank the EFRA Committee for taking on board our concerns, frustrations and calls for action, alongside those of so many others with a stake in this.
“We know that lots of people within our industry and the agencies involved are taking this threat very seriously and doing all they can to tackle the risk.
“Now it’s time for the government to finally do the same – to absorb the findings of this report, accept where there are gaps and act comprehensively and without delay to implement its recommendations in full.”
Ms Wilson has repeatedly warned that an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) would immediately wipe out Britain’s £600 million pork export market, trigger movement restrictions on farms and vehicles, and lead to mass culling of pigs.
Giving evidence to the inquiry, she cautioned that “government will be complicit” in the event of a disease outbreak “if they have not stopped the illegal meat, that they are entirely aware of, from coming into this country”.
After the EFRA report was published, she said: “This report further validates our messaging now that the flaws in its approach have been outlined so clearly and comprehensively by the EFRA Committee. There is nowhere left to hide, now. It must step up.”
Ms Wilson also pointed to a Politico investigation which revealed £800 million may have been “wasted” on post-Brexit border facilities that could remain unused.
“These sorts of figures are hugely frustrating for all involved with UK livestock in light of the government’s refusal to properly fund illegal meat import checks at the border,” she said.
