15,867 Pigs in Assam killed by 'African Swine Fever': Atul Bora

Guwahati:

Atul Bora, Assam Minister for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry today announced that the African Swine Flu outbreak has killed at least 15,867 pigs across Assam. He further said that there is a possibility that 50,000 pigs could eventually be affected by the disease.

However, the Government has now laxed some of the restrictions which were imposed on the selling of pork meat in the state. "You need a lot of money to keep feeding a pig. Apart from the infected zones which have been identified for a radius of 1 km and the surveillance zones of 10 km, pork meat can be sold, however, it must be sold in the same district where the animals are reared", said Bora.

Meanwhile, there is no plan to cull the pigs as of now, but Bora said that the compensation will be split between the Centre and the State.. "The State Government is prepared to bear 50 % of the cost, and the Central Government will foot the other 50% of the expense that shall be incurred due to the culling."

Bora also announced that a surveillance zone has been created within 10 kms of every pig that has been affected by the usually-fatal disease. "ASF is the father of the coronavirus as no vaccine has been invented the past 100 years. There is no cure, and the pigs will die anyway. The maintenance of bio-security is the only solution to this disease", said Bora.

He also announced that the district administrations in Assam have been urged to ensure that the outbreak is contained, and lauded the Animal Husbandry department for stopping the disease in its tracks. However, Bora lamented that many people are not yet prepared to deal with the threat posed by the disease.

The Minister also said that discussions are on with the Forest Department so that there is no inter-mingling between the domestic pigs and the wild boars. "They have a dug a trench 1 km wide and several kilometres long at Kaziranga where the domestic and wild pigs mingle together. They are keeping keen eyes so that there is no mixing."

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