Hotline set up to receive reports after pigs were injected with tranquilizers

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just requested localities to inspect and handle violations of injecting sedatives into pigs before slaughter, immediately after discovering a case of more than 5,000 pigs being injected with sedatives.

According to the Ministry, injecting sedatives right before slaughter is an act of commercial fraud, a serious violation of the law, and the amount of residual drugs in the meat will affect the health of consumers.

Therefore, to put an end to the practice of injecting sedatives before slaughter, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development requests the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to direct relevant agencies and units to strengthen the responsibility of veterinary agencies in supervising the operations of slaughterhouses, controlling slaughter at slaughterhouses; and strictly controlling the trading of sedative products in veterinary medicine.

Thousands of pigs were found injected with tranquilizers before slaughter.

Localities need to set up hotlines to receive reports of violations; organize facilities to sign commitments not to inject tranquilizers into pigs. At the same time, organize interdisciplinary teams to conduct inspections and checks to promptly detect and strictly handle slaughterhouses that inject tranquilizers into pigs before slaughter.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also requested to organize further propaganda for slaughterhouses and related subjects about the risks and harms of injecting sedatives into pigs before slaughter.

Previously, on September 28, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Environmental Crime Prevention and Control (C49) and other relevant agencies conducted an inspection at the Xuyen A slaughterhouse (located on Road 50, Cho Hamlet, Tan Phu Trung Commune, Cu Chi District). Accordingly, the interdisciplinary team discovered more than 5,000 pigs injected with sedatives, sleeping lethargically and waiting to be slaughtered.

Working with the interdisciplinary inspection team, 13/20 owners of facilities in the slaughterhouse admitted to injecting sedatives into pigs with the purpose of making the meat have a more eye-catching color, brighter red than usual, close to the skin, less fat, always fresh and supple...

According to experts, injecting sedatives into pigs before slaughter can affect the health of consumers, because the amount of drugs has not been completely eliminated in the meat. Consumers may be at risk of digestive, kidney, and nervous diseases, causing dementia, depression, tremors, etc.

According to VNN