According to a report published by The Sydney Morning Herald, officials from the Bali livestock and animal health agency have "forbidden" the practice of feeding surplus food from airlines, restaurants and hotels to pigs. Airline customs will also be checking and destroying all food containing pork carried by passengers. Epidemiological studies have shown that the disease has spread in areas where this practice is common hence the establishment of the ban.

In an interview, head of the Bali livestock and animal health agency Wayan Mardiana said 25 Bali pig farms with a total of 10,000 pigs which are fed the leftovers were considered at higher risk than other farms in Indonesia.

Around 30,000 pigs have died from African swine fever (ASF) in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province as of 15 December, according to a Reuters report published mid-December. The outbreaks have caused millions of dollars of economic losses as authorities try to quarantine the areas affected.

It is essential to stop the spread of the disease in order to eliminate it from domestic pig herds. The feeding of kitchen and catering waste to pigs is illegal in some countries and in some states in the US as it has been proven to be a vector for a number of critical diseases, including ASF. For more information on ASF and its prevention, visit The Pig Site Disease Index.