According to the Country’s Agriculture Council (COA), July 1, Taiwan is preparing to apply for recognition of the status of a foot-and-mouth disease-free country where vaccination is not practiced after meeting a critical standard.

As of Monday, July 1, there have been no cases of foot-and-mouth disease or foot-and-mouth disease in Taiwan over the past 12 months, making Taiwan a foot-and-mouth disease free zone according to the criteria of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), COA Deputy Minister Huang said Chin-cheng at a press conference on Monday July 1.

COA will submit a declaration to the OIE containing the qualifications of Taiwan and relevant evidence by September, and the country, according to Huang Ching-cheng, will regain that status by May 2020 in more than 22 years.

COA will continue to prevent foot and mouth disease, including GPS monitoring of all pig transport vehicles throughout the island, before the OIE officially announces that Taiwan has eliminated foot and mouth disease without vaccination, Chen Chi-chun told COA.

The council will also work to modernize Taiwan's pig industry and reintroduce pork in the country to international markets by creating special zones for pig farming and improving the processing and operation of pig excrement, Chen said.

Before the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 1997, more than 10 million pigs were raised in Taiwan, but then the number of farmed farms fell sharply and in November 2018 the stock was approximately 5 million pigs.