Motion 111

Since its arrival in 2019, the impact of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Asia has been profound, with tremendous financial losses for the pork industry and negative consequences for the economic stability. The long-term consequences for wild pig populations, ecosystems, food chains, and food security on a local level (Meijaard et al. 2024, Science, 383(6680):267) are still unfolding and it will take considerable time and resources for the affected countries to face and overcome the ASF crisis. This motion builds on the conservation concerns raised by FAO, OIE and IUCN SSC in 2021 in that ASF could lead to the extinction of several endemic pig species in Southeast Asia with serious effects on whole ecosystems (https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/423fbb2d-d04c-4873-8250-8635beb92b07).
Already before the arrival of ASF, wild pigs in south and southeast Asia were severely threatened. Of the 12 extant species in the region, 1 is currently Critically Endangered, 3 Endangered, 5 Vulnerable, 2 Near Threatened, and only 1 Least Concern. Updated status assessments are being prepared by the IUCN SSC Wild Pig Red List Authority, and it is anticipated that many more species will soon be listed as Critically Endangered.
To date, we know that ASF has devastated many wild pig populations. This has been documented, for example, for bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) in some areas of Sumatra and Borneo (Meijaard et al. 2024). The decline of wild pigs has already led to increased human-tiger conflict in some areas of Sumatra and Malaysia, highlighting the important role of wild pigs in natural ecosystems. Recently, ASF has reached wild pig populations on the island of Sulawesi, and the unique evolutionary lineage of the genus Babyrousa seems to have disappeared from many locations.
While some vaccines are being tested in the domestic sector, these are not applicable to wild pig populations, and experts fear that a vaccine for wild pigs is not likely to be available for many years. Similarly, a treatment does not exist.
While we recognise and appreciate the efforts that are being made in various countries and at a global level, most of these efforts are still focused on the pork industry sector. Surveillance platforms such as WAHIS implemented by WOAH mostly include ASF cases of domestic pigs and do not reflect the entire situation. This undermines the value of wild pigs to local ecosystems and the role of interaction between wild and domestic pigs in disease transmission and control. We need to protect both wild and domestic pigs, in order to fight ASF (FAO, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UUw6DCElIE).
A movement is needed to encourage, leverage and support greater collaboration of all stakeholders and joint action for wild pigs at both national and international (governmental and non-governmental) levels, and by involving local communities. If this is not done, the achievement of conservation objectives will be prevented by fragmented governance and resource limitations. Ex situ populations will play a major role in rescuing species in the short-term, and long-term plans should include the re-population of regions where pigs disappeared. Hence, in the spirit of One Health and the One Plan Approach, all sectors should work together to save wild pigs from extinction and limit their declines’ negative impacts on ecosystem and people.