On October 21, 2025, Taiwan was jolted by the unwelcome news of its first confirmed case of African swine fever (ASF) in two decades. The infection, discovered at a pig farm in Taichung’s Wuqi District, immediately set off alarm bells within the agriculture sector and among government officials. According to Central News Agency (CNA), this was the first time since 2005 that the country had encountered the highly contagious viral disease, notorious for its devastating impact on pig populations and the pork industry worldwide.
By October 24, the government had moved swiftly, inspecting nearly 80 percent of hog farms across the nation. Encouragingly, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih announced at a press conference that these rounds of inspections yielded no new ASF cases. However, Chen cautioned that the situation remains "tense" due to the virus’s 15-day incubation period. "A single round of testing may be insufficient," Chen explained, highlighting the need for ongoing vigilance. "In other words, we are now entering a more tense phase." (Taipei Times)
The first round of screening included 40 farms linked directly to the affected site in Wuqi. But with the clock ticking on the incubation period, the authorities were not content to rest easy. Nationwide testing of hog farms was expected to be completed by Sunday, October 26, with the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) in Taichung at the helm of the response. The CEOC, led by Minister Chen, reviews the implementation and impact of containment measures on a daily basis, holding discussions every five days to determine if any changes are needed. This flexible and adaptive approach, as described by Chen, is designed to stay ahead of the virus and minimize any potential fallout.
To further curb the risk of ASF spreading, the government imposed a strict 15-day ban starting in mid-October on slaughtering, transporting, and feeding pigs with kitchen waste. While these measures have disrupted operations for food providers and hog farmers, officials argue they are necessary to prevent a wider outbreak. The ban, though temporary, has reignited a longstanding and heated debate over the use of kitchen waste as hog feed—a practice common in some regions but fraught with biosecurity risks.
Opposition leaders, particularly from the Kuomintang (KMT), have used the crisis to criticize President Lai Ching-te’s earlier stance. Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan, a KMT official, pointed out that she had imposed a ban on using kitchen waste as hog feed in late 2018, during an ASF outbreak in China. Her reasoning was straightforward: such practices expose local farms to the risk of contagion. She was not alone in her concerns. The opposition has repeatedly argued that a full national ban on kitchen waste feed should have been enacted years ago to safeguard Taiwan’s pork industry.
President Lai, however, defended his record in a statement on Friday. According to CNA, Lai recalled that during his tenure as premier in 2018, most local government heads opposed a full ban on kitchen waste feed at a key meeting. In response, the government established a compromise: local governments could continue allowing kitchen waste as hog feed, but only if strict hygiene standards were met—specifically, heating the waste above 90°C for more than an hour to kill any pathogens. Lai asserted that this policy effectively prevented the possible spread of the virus through improperly managed kitchen waste, balancing public health with practical concerns about waste management and farm economics.
The central government’s current position, as articulated by Minister Chen, is to respect the autonomy of local governments in issuing recycling licenses and regulating kitchen waste feed. "Given that local governments are in charge of issuing related recycling licenses, the central government respects their decisions regarding the use of kitchen waste as hog feed," Chen said. At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture is open to learning from international best practices, especially when it comes to recycling kitchen waste into feed in a safer, more controlled manner. Chen noted that the ministry is willing to gather information on global approaches, suggesting that Taiwan could eventually move beyond simply using raw or unprocessed waste for hogs.
The debate over kitchen waste is more than just a technical matter—it’s a flashpoint that highlights the complex interplay between public health, agricultural policy, environmental sustainability, and even local politics. Some local leaders have argued that banning kitchen waste as feed is the only way to ensure biosecurity, while others point to the environmental and economic benefits of recycling food scraps, provided that rigorous safety standards are enforced. The central government’s willingness to defer to local authorities on this issue is both a recognition of Taiwan’s decentralized governance model and a pragmatic response to the differing needs and capacities of each region.
Meanwhile, for Taiwan’s hog farmers, the outbreak and the government’s emergency measures have created a period of uncertainty and anxiety. The 15-day ban on key activities has disrupted daily operations, with some farmers expressing concern about the financial toll if the restrictions are extended. Food providers who rely on pork products have also felt the pinch, as supply chain disruptions ripple through the market. The CEOC has pledged to review the impact of the measures regularly, aiming to strike a balance between disease control and economic stability.
ASF itself poses no direct risk to human health, but its impact on livestock can be catastrophic. The virus is highly contagious among pigs, with no effective vaccine available. Outbreaks in other countries have led to mass cullings, severe economic losses, and, in some cases, lasting damage to the pork industry. Taiwan’s last brush with ASF in 2005 was a sobering experience, and officials are determined not to repeat past mistakes.
As the government races to complete nationwide testing and reviews its containment strategy, all eyes are on the next two weeks. The 15-day incubation window for ASF means that more cases could still emerge, even as initial screenings show no new infections. The agriculture ministry has left the door open to refining its approach as more data comes in, emphasizing that flexibility and rapid response are key to containing the outbreak.
For now, Taiwan’s pork industry—and the broader public—waits anxiously. The coming days will reveal whether the swift action and hard-learned lessons of the past are enough to keep ASF at bay. If nothing else, the episode has reignited an important conversation about food safety, agricultural resilience, and the sometimes messy intersection of science and politics.
