Supporting Ukrainian Animal Health and Food Safety

Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine and its people is taking a devastating human toll – with lives tragically lost, families broken apart and displaced, and communities and cities destroyed. Among the consequences of this invasion are increasing food safety risks due to weakened controls on animal diseases. With limited access to veterinary medicines, livestock producers are forced to turn to other measures to try and ensure a safe food supply. The conflict also changes migratory pattern of wild animals, which will likely continue to interact with animals on small and medium size farms, all of which require an active monitoring and testing process to ensure that wild animal diseases are contained and controlled. In addition, USDA notes that African Swine Fever (ASF) is currently endemic to Ukraine. Preventing and monitoring the spread of ASF is vital toward protecting animal health and food safety not just in Ukraine, but globally. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) seeks to promote technical support to Ukrainian industry on how to detect and mitigate animal health diseases and prevent, if applicable, their introduction into the food supply. This should include working across the entire supply chain, to ensure that the food supply is not contaminated after slaughter as well.