PIG BURIAL As the town of San Enrique in Negros Occidental loses most of its pigs to hog cholera, Bacolod City also has to deal with deaths of pigs caused by the African swine fever. Shown in this May 31 photo taken in the village of Tangub are workers burying pigs that have been culled. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
BACOLOD CITY — Hog raisers who did not properly dispose of their dead pigs will not be given assistance by the Negros Occidental provincial government.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson cautioned hog raisers that the disposal of the pig carcasses in rivers or empty lots could contribute to the spread of swine diseases in nearby communities.
“One of the conditions (in the distribution of financial aid) is we will not help those that did not properly dispose of their dead pigs, especially those who just throw them in rivers,” he said on Friday, June 16.
“We don’t want to include in the cash aid those who won’t follow the rules because they are not cooperating,” the governor added.
Lacson recently approved the release of P10 million in financial aid to residents of the province whose pigs died of various diseases.
Each affected family will receive P2,000 and free-range chicken as an alternative source of livelihood.
In a report, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) said 13,107 pigs died from various diseases in Negros Occidental from April 1 to June 16.
Hog deaths, which represent 9.16 percent of the province’s pig population, affected 2,539 hog raisers and brought losses amounting to P147,531,350.
While the bulk of the fatalities in Negros Occidental were caused by hog cholera, there have been confirmed pig deaths due to the highly contagious African swine fever (ASF) in the cities of Bacolod, Silay and Victorias, and Pulupandan town.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the provincial government’s laboratory has detected ASF cases in some areas but the samples that tested positive have been sent to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) for confirmation.
“The provincial government cannot officially release the results unless confirmed by the BAI. The provincial government’s molecular laboratory is only for surveillance purposes,” he said.
If there are pig deaths caused by ASF or hog cholera, Diaz said a lockdown should be implemented immediately to prevent the spread of the disease.
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