Smuggled pigs from ASF-hit Masbate slaughtered on arrival in Cebu town
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — A shipment of at least 37 live hogs was intercepted by authorities in the northern town of San Remigio in Cebu on Monday as authorities tightened its patrol of entry points to keep the province free from the African swine fever (ASF).
Dr. Mary Rose Vincoy, Cebu provincial veterinarian, said the pigs came from Esperanza town in Masbate, one of the provinces in the country with a confirmed case of ASF.
“Even if the pigs looked healthy, we were anxious that if we allowed their entry, they would end up infecting our local pigs,” she said.
The pigs were immediately slaughtered and buried at Barangay Bancasan in San Remigio. Vincoy said the pigs were no longer brought to another location as a protocol to prevent the spread of ASF.
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The provincial government has imposed an “indefinite” ban on the entry of live hogs and pork products from Panay Island and Eastern Visayas region and from Luzon and Mindanao, where cases of ASF were reported, to protect the more than P10-billion pork industry of Cebu.
Investigation showed that the vessel carrying the pigs from Masbate arrived at dawn on Nov. 13 on the shores of Barangay Bancasan, San Remigio, which is not a usual docking port for motorized banca.
Some villagers relayed the matter to authorities. The local police then went to the area to intercept the shipment.
The owners of the pigs or their intended recipient in Cebu could not be immediately located as there were no permits or shipping documents presented by those who transported the pigs.
“At first, no one would tell us where these hogs came from until someone (from those who shipped the pigs) said the pump boat came from Masbate. The pigs were loaded in Esperanza and then shipped directly to San Remigio,” Vincoy said.
“It was a good thing that the incident was reported [to local authorities] immediately,” she added.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who ordered the ban on the entry of hogs and meat products from ASF-infected areas, commended the swift action of the Provincial Veterinary Office and other agencies.
Vincoy admitted it remained a challenge for them to fight ASF, particularly the unauthorized movement of live hogs from the provinces at night and dawn.“The problem really happens during the night or graveyard shift. Local governments, however, have been helping us in monitoring our borders at night,” she said.
ASF is a fatal and highly contagious disease of domestic and wild pigs with a mortality rate of 100 percent, according to the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). A vaccine has yet to be developed against ASF but the NMIS said the animal disease is not a threat to human health.
