Written question no. 7-1217

by Steven Coenegrachts (Open Vld) dated 28 April 2021

to the Minister for the Middle Classes, the Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal

Wild boar meat – Marketing – Sales ban – Regulations – Possible relaxation – Trichinella parasite – Testing

game
meat sales permit
cattle plague
hunting
commercialization

Chronology

Question no. 7-1217 of 28 April 2021 : (Question asked in Dutch)

On 18 October and 26 November 2019, I already submitted written questions (nos. 28 and 118) in the Flemish Parliament about the marketing of wild boar meat in Belgium.

A hunter, if he has the «qualified person» certificate (issued by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC)), may only sell game in limited quantities to private individuals. Small game may only be sold unpicked, unskinned and uncleaned; Big game, including wild boar, may only be sold gutted, but in the fur. It is therefore necessary to deliver a complete wild boar to the private individual in case of private interest, albeit after laboratory checks for the trichinella parasite. Private individuals are not keen on this because they often do not have the skills and infrastructure to process the animal. The trichinella test is required by law when delivered to private individuals. This makes sense, because trichinosis is a dangerous and potentially fatal condition. The hunting sector is therefore unanimous in its support of this legal obligation.

Despite the wild boar problem in Limburg, 95% of wild pork is still imported from abroad, because it is offered to game traders at dumping prices. A hunter often receives no more than 50 euros per wild boar offered from a game trader. Private individuals are asked for an analogous price. Either the buyer pays just enough to cover the cost of the trichine analysis, or the hunter sticks in.

Finally, federal regulations do not allow the direct sale of game to the catering industry when there is no game processing unit associated with the business.

In the Netherlands, the regulations for marketing game are more flexible. A regulation based on the same European Regulation No. 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin. Dutch hunters can deliver game meat directly to catering establishments and deliver processed game to both catering establishments and private individuals. The Flemish hunting sector has been arguing for the introduction of the Dutch model in Belgium for some time.

Transversal nature of the question: the competence of the Flemish Region in the field of nature conservation (in the broad sense) is based on Article 6, § 1, III, of the Special Act of 8 August 1980 on the reform of the institutions. This competence has been converted for the Flemish Region by means of a law and a number of decrees on nature, forest, hunting and fishing. The FASFC is a federal institution that monitors food safety. It is therefore a cross-cutting matter with the Regions.

I have the following questions about this:

1) Is particular consideration given to distributing (a limited or not limited number) of free trichinella tests for wild boar meat?

2) Is the honourable minister in favour of relaxing the ban on the sale of game meat by hunters to retailers, wholesalers, catering establishments and poulterers? If so, under what conditions does it think that can be done?

3) Is it true that this more flexible sale is permitted on the basis of a European regulation and is applied in this way, for example, in the Netherlands? If so, why can’t the Dutch example be applied in Belgium?

4) How will he try to prevent hunters from being discouraged from shooting wild boars and ensure that the risk of transmission of the African swine fever (ASF) virus is resolutely contained?

Answer received on November 22, 2021 :

The FASFC is a control agency and does not have the authority nor the budgets to make such a test available free of charge. In addition, it can be established that the cost of a trichinella test is negligible compared to the hunting rights.

As you have rightly pointed out, Trichinella is a dangerous pathogen that can have very serious consequences for consumers who are infected. It is therefore primarily with a view to consumer protection that Belgium has introduced national legislation on the direct trade in small quantities of game, as permitted by European Regulation 853/2004.

I believe that a consumer who buys wild boar meat from a butcher or consumes it in a restaurant has the right to get safe products and therefore to consume meat that has been checked by an official veterinarian and is safe.

The meat marketed in Belgium must guarantee a high level of health safety. Therefore, a wild boar carcass can be given directly to a consumer by a hunter, subject to an analysis on trichinae, as the consumer knows that this meat comes directly from the hunter and has not been checked. A hunter who wants to sell a wild boar carcass to a restaurant or butcher, on the other hand, must first go to a game processing company where the carcass is processed and inspected to ensure consumer safety. It is important to note that retail outlets, restaurants and butchers do not have the infrastructure and equipment to store, skin or feather game carcasses under acceptable hygienic conditions.

These rules for game are similar to those for poultry and rabbit carcasses slaughtered on farms without veterinary inspection for direct sale on the farm. These non-inspected carcasses may also not be sold by the breeder to restaurants, butchers or retailers.

It should also be noted that if hunters were able to sell shot wild boars directly to restaurants or butchers without inspection, this would not only create two-speed food safety, but also create unfair competition with game processing companies that are subject to veterinary inspection costs.

The good preparation and cooperation between the FASFC and the partners involved in the control of animal diseases in wild boars, such as the Walloon Region and the research institutes, such as Sciensano and ULG, have contributed to the successful eradication of the African swine fever virus. The quality of the enormous work carried out by the Walloon Region, as well as the enormous expenditure it has incurred, should be particularly highlighted. After all, the extermination of wild boars by hunters during the crisis in the area where African swine fever was prevalent was largely subsidized. This cooperation will be continued with a view to preventing a possible new introduction of the virus in our country.

In the context of the prevention of swine diseases, including African swine fever, mandatory biosecurity measures apply to pig farms as described in the Royal Decree of 18 June 2014 on measures to prevent notifiable pig diseases, which was amended on 20 April 2020. The purpose of this last amendment is to strengthen the biosecurity on Belgian pig farms by, among other things, making it mandatory for the farm veterinarian to carry out an annual evaluation of the biosecurity measures.

To carry out this evaluation, the Agency has financed the development – by ARSIA and DGZ – of a user-friendly application for veterinarians. This application is now fully ready for use. This obligation came into force on 1 June. In addition, measures of increased vigilance are also in place to ensure the early detection of African swine fever on pig farms, as provided for in the Ministerial Order of 15 January 2021 on measures for the prevention of African swine fever which replaces the Ministerial Order of September 2018 on urgent measures for the control of African swine fever. The FASFC fully finances the analyses related to this increased vigilance and the Sanitary Fund pays the excuses for the blood tests to the veterinarians.

Finally, the various actors involved in the prevention of African swine fever, such as livestock farmers, veterinarians and hunters, as well as the general public, are sensitised by the FASFC and the Regions through newsletters, training courses and the information available on their respective websites. The FASFC has an entire page on its website specifically dedicated to African swine fever.

The Regional Authorities are responsible for the prevention and control of African swine fever in wild boars. The Walloon Region has put in place a progressive exit strategy for its measures, spread over more than two years.

At the European level, the European Commission, like other European and international bodies, has highlighted the quality of Belgium’s work that has made it possible to eradicate the disease. We will continue to implement the European Commission’s recommendations, which we helped to develop. Belgium submitted a wild boar action plan to the Commission DG SANTE on 7 April 2021. This plan is a compilation of the plans drawn up by the Regions.