U.S. Pork Well Represented in USDA APHIS Accomplishments of 2023

Controlling and eradicating feral swine continues to be a top accomplishment and priority for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Of the eight accomplishments USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently acknowledged in their efforts to protect U.S. agriculture and natural resources in 2023, three specifically address the U.S. pork industry: protecting the U.S. from African swine fever (ASF); opening, expanding, retaining and reopening live animal export markets; and controlling and eradicating feral swine.

- Protecting the United States from ASF.

APHIS continued to aggressively fight to keep ASF from entering the U.S. With millions of people traveling into the U.S. each year and the volume of imported products entering our country, APHIS’ work provides a critical protection to U.S. pigs. By enhancing existing safeguards, increasing swine disease surveillance and testing, and increasing awareness of ASF through the “Protect our Pigs” and “Pigs Don’t Fly” campaigns, APHIS kept ASF out of the U.S. in 2023. APHIS also worked closely with States and industry to update and refine response plans, and worked with scientists at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories and across the National Animal Health Laboratory Network to be ready in case ASF reaches the U.S.