Pork Sale Banned in Assam after 1,964 Pigs Die of "Unnatural" Cause

Guwahati, April 25, 2020:

Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora on April 25 announced that the State administration has banned the sale of pork meat. This decision has been taken against the backdrop of over a thousand "unnatural deaths" of pigs being reported across the state.

Bora said that in the recent past, six districts across the state (Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Biswanath) have reported "unnatural deaths" of 1,964 pigs. Sivasagar has reported the most deaths (1,128).

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The districts where these deaths were reported, Bora said, will now be marked as "containment zones" and extra measures will be taken by the administration to ensure that the disease does not spread. Furthermore, people who have visited these farms will not be allowed to visit other pork farms.

Bora has said that these pigs will have to be buried in 6-feet deep graves and "cleansing" chemicals must be sprayed on these corpses.

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A team of 5 doctors was sent to all the districts to collect samples, Bora said, adding that there have been a series of intense discussions on the topic between Government representatives and experts.

Bora said that swine flu vaccines have already been distributed across the state. "Some pigs have recovered, some have not. Experts are concerned, which is why we have collected samples.

The Minister also said that the cause of deaths could be some "exotic" virus, and now, to get to the bottom of the matter, samples have been sent to a top-level OIE testing laboratory in Bhopal. Bora said that certain "restrictions" will now be imposed on pork meat that is being brought in from other states and added that people have been alerted.

Meanwhile, the Government is said to be in talks to see what can be done to allay the financial damages that will be incurred by the piggery business owners."So that there is no loss to the farmers, that is something we will be looking at", added Bora.

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