To stop ASF, Zamboanga City cops shoot pigs or hit them with mallets

(FILE) Pigs locked in a cage in a slaughterhouse.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — As the city tried to contain the spread of African swine fever (ASF) infections, pigs were killed by hitting their heads with hard objects while larger ones were shot, using bullets from the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Imagine, they were using mallet (maso) (to kill the pigs). They could have euthanized them,” said Allan Garcia, one of the 133 affected hog raisers in the city whose livestocks were culled after they were found to be infected with ASF. He said he found the culling method that the city used “unacceptable” because it allowed blood to spill and proved to be messy, amidst the general concern for the spread of the virus.

Dr. Mario Arriola, the city veterinarian, said a total of 524 pigs had died, 389 of them culled using hard objects and guns, since the infection was first detected in Sitio Canucutan, Pasonanca village here on May 6, and in Mangusu village on May 7.

“Of the 524 mortalities, we just indicated the number of (those) culled. The small pigs (were) culled using hard objects to hit their heads. For the large pigs, we used bullets from the PNP,” Arriola explained. “These are allowed procedures in depopulation,” he added.

Assistant City Veterinarian Arnedo Agbayani also explained that the city police office here formed part of the Rapid Action Team tasked with depopulation and decontamination procedures.

“The cops are the ones shooting the pigs in the head and we have a detailed supervisory veterinarian during the process,” Agbayani said.

Arriola said the national government would need some P1.9 million to compensate 133 hog raisers whose sows and swine were culled to stop the spread of the disease.

At least five barangays in the city have confirmed cases of ASF. They included the barangays of Curuan, Mangusu, Bunguiao, Manicahan and Pasonanca. Except for Pasonanca, all of the affected barangays are located near the border with Zamboanga Sibugay province, which had confirmed cases of infection. Samples from the hogs that died in Pasonanca and Mangusu were confirmed to be positive for ASF infection after the tests done at the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) in General Santos City. Arriola said the infection reached Mangusu when a contaminated vehicle entered the area in late April.

“We have tightened the border security of incoming live hogs and even processed meat brought by returning residents,” Arriola said.

“Since Zamboanga Sibugay has already declared a lockdown for their livestocks, we are keeping watch of pork and pork products coming from Zamboanga del Norte. We received reports that some livestock traders have been trying to sneak in their meat using sea vessels, but so far no one has been arrested yet,” Arriola added.

He also allayed fears of possible food crisis because of the shortage of pork meat and other processed pork products in the market.

Arriola said that except perhaps for those engaged in the pork business, there was no food shortage problem in the city. “We have rabbits, chicken, goats, and lots of marine products (as alternatives),” he said. “Those are affected are pork eaters and those engaged in the business of serving pork meat and processed pork,” he added.

He also said that affected hog raisers were consulted and were even asked to sign a waiver before their hogs were culled.

Hog raisers will have to wait for six months before they can start raising hogs again. Arriola said that for now, the city government intensified surveillance for the possible spread of the disease. “Right now, we are no longer receiving reports of hogs’ deaths. Hopefully, this will continue, so we can start distributing sentinel pigs again to help those who were affected recover,” Arriola said.

Police Major Paul Andrew Cortez, spokesperson of the Zamboanga City Police Office, said they were working alongside with the City Veterinarian Office for the depopulation of ASF-infected hogs.

“We have personnel assigned with the ASF Task Force and they are under supervision by the veterinarian. All personnel tapped to depopulate or cull the pigs are properly oriented,”he said. “We are using our own bullets for the caliber .45 pistol, and we ensure that no Muslim police personnel are assigned to to do the task.”

/MUF