Should pigs be banned?

[Mike]

Okay I almost posted this on Timmy's thread but didnt want to hikack it so here it is.

It seems odd that if there is a disease caused by an exotic animal such as the fluke Monkeypox outbreak which involved Prairie Dogs 5 yrs ago (and killed no one).... exotic animals are typically banned, where domestics never are. Even the animals that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time such as the Prairie Dogs that Phil’s Pocket Pets in Chicago housed next to a sick imported Gambian rat which should have been the only animal affected by the CDC ban 5yrs ago. Ironically, the Gambian rat infected 40 some odd prairie dog or so, and they in turn infected other rodents and at least 2 domestic rabbits. The only animals out of the animals proven to infected with that virus to be banned were the exotics, the rabbits were left untouched.


First of all, the CDC should have quarantine regulations in place to prevent wild caught animals from harboring known diseases like Monkeypox, sars, etc.. CDC seems to not worry about things until something happens. And then, it seems like they prefer to force an outright ban versus requiring USDA quarantine procedures which are already in place for other species to prevent issues from happening in the first place.


Here is where it gets odd, the CDC will outright ban the private hobby or USDA licensed facilities from importing these “banned species”, but they will allow the AZA facilities (accredited zoo’s) to import these same animals considered high risk for disease such as Monkeypox, sars, etc. with absolutely ZERO quarantine procedures required to ensure that the public visiting these zoo’s do not get infected with the very same diseases that those animals were banned from the pet trade to prevent.



Do you really think that AZA should be allowed to have their own set of rules? Think about this the next time you visit one of their facilities, the animals that they get might be harboring a disease that would prevent you from owning the animal, but the CDC feels like the same animals are safe to expose to people as long as the facility housing the animal has a worthless AZA accreditation… while the pet trade isn’t even worth the time to put blood testing and quarantine procedures in place.


We, the exotic pet hobby always get the short end of the stick while aza zoo’s, universities, labs and agriculture are untouchable for the most part. If the Swine flu was a result from a zoonotic infection from an exotic pet… the CDC would place a ban on them at the snap of a finger. Being that the agriculture industry is at the heart of this disease, the issue will be ignored. Mind you, there are no regs that require mandatory, random inspections for farms raising swine or other domestics to ensure these facilities are clean and the animals are healthy before they are processed into the food supply. From what I understand, there must be a complaint in order for the farm to be reviewed.


I personally have been on farms where the hogs had pens so full of hog poop that there was no dry place for them to sit, stand or lay… the poop was at least 12 inches deep. Other farms that I have seen in my area have had dead hogs left to rot 50ft from a hog nursery, one on top of another.


These farms will never see an inspector unless someone calls in a complaint, thus these animals will be consumed by all of us. Why does our government choose to turn a blind eye on regulating the animals we eat, while over regulating the pet trade out of existence? What is good for the goose is good for the gander, if the gander doesn’t get it, then the goose shouldn’t either.


By the same standards that banned the Prairie Dog, Gambian Rat and other African rodents, shouldn’t hogs be banned to prevent future Swine flu outbreaks in the USA? Shouldn’t international travel also be banned, both ways, until the issue is resolved… or permanently? Again, these are the same standards put on the exotic pet trade, why are they not the CDC standards for domestics?
 
   

[Mikekoz13]

I'm having a strange urge for a pork chop...........

[Mike]

That does sound good. I might have to get some pork for lunch today haha.

[The Scottish Ambassador]

I'm having a strange urge for a pork chop...........

......smoked back bacon in a bread roll with some fried tomato 

[Mikekoz13]

I just finished some pulled pork that I smoked this past Sunday........... MMMMM!

[MattD]

They have confirmed that fully cooked pork is still 100% safe to eat.

[Sly Red]

Should pigs be banned?

No, they should be pit barbequed, Lexington, North Carolina style. 

http://www.hollyeats.com/Lexington.htm

Red

[Mike]

Lol. What I mean is that they should be banned because they are more likely to pass disease onto humans than say a gambian pouch rat. When one exotic gets a disease then they freak out and start banning everything.

[schro]

I'm with Red & Koz.
BBQ is a good thing.

[PigPen]

Yeah, Q 'em up

[tomgallagher]

You can't get the disease from eating them. Bacon and eggs all round.

[Rob]

You are more likely to get a disease from another human than a pig...

[Mikekoz13]

You are more likely to get a disease from another human than a pig...

Remember Sir Rob........ many human beings ARE pigs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rob]

You are more likely to get a disease from another human than a pig...

Remember Sir Rob........ many human beings ARE pigs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is true

[Razor X]

You are more likely to get a disease from another human than a pig...

Remember Sir Rob........ many human beings ARE pigs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, but the human pigs really should be banned.