Over 1000 hogs culled in ASF-hit Camarines Sur towns

LEGAZPI CITY –– 1,245 hogs were culled this week in the towns of Calabanga and Bombon in Camarines Sur province after several pigs that died there were tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol said on Thursday.

Emilia Bordado, DA spokesperson, said veterinary personnel culled 96 hogs on Wednesday night in the villages of Sta. Salud and San Vicente in Calabanga.

In Bombon, where the ASF cases started in Bicol, 1,149 pigs were culled on Thursday from four villages there, Bordado said.

The culled hogs were immediately buried in the towns’ designated disposal pit, a procedure done by veterinary authorities to contain the spread of the disease.

Bordado, in a phone interview, said the culling affected 225 backyard hog raisers, 203 from Bombon and 22 from Calabanga.

The farmers would get cash assistance of P5,000 from the DA for every hog culled, and P3,000 from the provincial government.

The agency has declared a lockdown on the entry and exit of live pigs and processed meat products in Bombon, Calabanga, and Magarao in Camarines Sur due to ASF cases.

Edited by Lzb