400 hogs culled in GenSan to stop swine fever spread

PREVENTING DISEASE Hogs from backyard farms in Barangay Apopong in General Santos City are prepared to be culled to stop the spread of the African swine fever in the city. —PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHEL GUBALANI/BRIGADA NEWS

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—More than 400 hogs grown in backyard farms here were ordered culled by the city government due to suspected African swine fever (ASF) contamination.

Councilor Richard Atendido, chair of the council’s committee on agriculture, on Thursday said the “preventive culling” was ongoing at Purok San Lorenzo in Barangay Apopong as a precautionary measure pending confirmatory laboratory results from blood samples taken from the hogs.

He said several pigs in the area were earlier reported to have exhibited symptoms similar to swine fever.

Atendido said that in early 2020, the city government also culled several hogs in Barangay Conel due to the suspected presence of ASF.

“This is still a suspected [ASF] contamination. We’re still waiting for the official report … from the City Veterinary Office (CVO),” Atendido said in an interview over radio station Brigada News FM.

The culling, which started on Monday, involved 403 hogs in Purok San Lorenzo, he said.

Assistance

The possible ASF contamination supposedly originated from the stockyard of a trader engaged in buying and selling hogs.

Paolo Natividad, Apopong village chief, said CVO personnel inspected the concerned backyard farm in the area last week. He said the blood samples taken from several hogs reportedly came out positive for ASF.

The CVO then ordered the confiscation and immediate culling of hogs within the 500-meter radius of the site as a containment measure.

“They conducted an inventory of the affected hogs for the release of cash assistance to the owners,” Natividad said.

Atendido said the affected hog growers or farmers are entitled to receive compensation from the Department of Agriculture, which ranges from P1,000 to P5,000 per animal.

South Cotabato Swine Producers Association, the area’s biggest group of commercial hog producers, has released initial contingency assistance, he said.

General Santos City and nearby South Cotabato province, considered as the country’s top hog producer, have been under heightened alert since late 2019 due to the outbreak of ASF in different areas in the country.

From January to June last year, the CVO reported that a total of 151,923 hogs, or an average of more than 25,000 a month, were shipped out from this city. —ALLEN V. ESTABILLO