UK farmers have warned of a “foot-and-mouth” level crisis as data obtained by BBC News shows that the amount of illegal meat seized by Border Force officials has doubled in a year. This indicates a rise in organised crime. Meat imports classed as illegal have often not gone through checks, which increases the risk of outbreaks of highly contagious diseases such as African swine fever. Experts believe that the large rise in illegal meat is likely to be down to more stringent restrictions around the import of pork products, an overall increase in the price of meat and more organised criminal activity.
Farmers and MPs have called on the Chancellor to fund more stringent border controls in next week’s budget to prevent the disease from entering the UK. Conservative MP Dr Neil Hudson, who worked as a veterinary surgeon during the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak, is among those calling for border and health authorities to be given more money. He wants the chancellor to fully refurbish the UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency at a cost of £2.8bn.
In response, a government spokesperson said that there had never been an outbreak of African Swine Fever in the UK and that there were strict import controls in place to manage the risk. These included restrictions on personal pork imports introduced in October 2024.
The National Audit Office estimated that the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak cost the UK economy £8bn, equivalent to around £14.5bn today. Home Office figures, obtained by the BBC using Freedom of Information laws, show that the amount of illegal meat seized by Border Force officials doubled from almost 35,000kg in 2022/23 to more than 70,000kg in 2023/24. Figures for the first four months of 2024/25 suggest another large increase will be recorded by the end of the financial year.
Additionally, the data shows a general trend towards fewer individual seizures, with more than 5,500 in 2015/16 and fewer than 2,000 in 2023/24, sparking fears of larger shipments and more organised criminal activity. Parliament’s Environment Select Committee had been set to look into whether the current post-Brexit border checks at Dover were working before the general election was called earlier this year
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