Nghe An: People dump dead pigs indiscriminately, brazenly sell pork in epidemic areas

Throwing pig carcasses on bridges and rivers

At around 10am on October 22, while passing Hieu I Bridge in Thai Hoa Town, people discovered a sack of garbage thrown on the bridge. Suspecting it was garbage, people opened it and found a dead pig weighing about 30kg inside. People immediately reported it to the local authorities.

Authorities discovered a dead pig at Hieu 1 bridge, Thai Hoa town. Photo: Dam Thuy

After receiving the news, veterinary staff of Thai Hoa town and authorities of Hoa Hieu and Quang Tien wards promptly arrived at the scene to spray disinfectant and destroy the pig.

This is the time when African swine fever is breaking out and becoming more and more complicated in the whole province. Although it has not been determined whether these are pigs that died from the disease or not, the act of dumping dead pigs on Hieu Bridge reflects the poor awareness of some people, and may increase the risk of spreading the disease. Currently, the authorities are searching for community cameras to find the person who dumped the pig carcass.

Dead pigs must be sprayed with chemicals to ensure safety and prevent the spread of disease. Photo: Quang Huy

Previously, in Hung Nguyen and Yen Thanh districts, people also dumped dead pigs in rivers. Specifically, on October 8, people in Hung Dao commune (Hung Nguyen) discovered a number of dead pigs floating on the Dao river. In Yen Thanh district, on October 5, dead pigs were also found floating in the river at Cay Phuong bridge, Lang Thanh commune, causing great concern to people.

Dead pigs floating on the river in Ma Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district on October 5. Photo: Tuoi Tre Newspaper

Although local authorities have collected dead pigs in rivers to protect water sources from pollution and prevent the spread of African swine fever, the indiscriminate dumping of dead pigs has reflected the poor awareness of some people, causing the disease to spread rapidly.

Traders transport pigs in and out of epidemic areas

On the evening of October 22, at the African swine fever checkpoint in Con Cuong town, Con Cuong district, authorities discovered two trucks transporting pigs from the lowlands to the mountains for consumption.

Two trucks carrying pigs were detained while passing through the quarantine checkpoint in Con Cuong town on the afternoon and evening of October 22. Photo: Provided by Con Cuong Town People's Committee

Specifically, at 4:30 p.m. on October 22, the authorities arrested the first vehicle with license plate 37V - 3352, carrying 10 pigs with a total weight of 1.5 tons. At 7:50 p.m., they arrested the second vehicle with license plate 37C - 069.75, carrying 12 pigs with a total weight of 2.4 tons. Both vehicles originated from Xuan Hoa commune, Nam Dan district.

It is worth mentioning that in Con Cuong town, there is currently an outbreak of African swine fever, and transporting pigs in and out of epidemic areas is prohibited. In addition, at the time of discovery and arrest of the two vehicles mentioned above, the pigs on the vehicles were all in poor health, some of them were about to die.

The pigs on both trucks were all sick, some were about to die. Photo: Provided by Con Cuong Town People's Committee

After conducting the inspection, we fined the vehicle owners an administrative fine of 5 million VND according to regulations, and at the same time expelled them back to the starting point, not allowing them to continue circulating. Previously, on October 16-17, we also discovered 3 vehicles carrying pigs and also handled them according to current regulations.

Mr. Nguyen Ho Duc - Vice Chairman of Con Cuong Town People's Committee

Openly trading pork at the epicenter

Currently, African swine fever has spread throughout the province, however, the rampant trade of pork without clear origin has not been thoroughly checked and handled. In the context of high pork prices, many people, for immediate profit, have secretly sold pork even though the epidemic is occurring in the locality.

Residents of Hamlet 4, Long Son Commune (Anh Son) sold pork without a quarantine stamp on October 18, despite the local epidemic. Photo: Quang An

In Long Son commune, Anh Son district, despite the African swine fever epidemic, people in hamlets 4 and 5 still brazenly sell pork. When asked why they sell pork while the locality is experiencing an epidemic, the pork seller calmly replied: "I see other people selling, so I sell too...".

In Vinh City, the situation of selling pork on sidewalks, offal, and roadsides can still be easily seen on the streets, although this is currently one of the hottest spots for African swine fever in the province with a fast and complicated spread rate.

The situation of people selling pork on the streets and sidewalks happens frequently in Vinh City. Photo: Quang An

On streets such as Nguyen Van Troi, Nguyen Trung Ngan, Ham Nghi, Nguyen Du... the situation of selling pork on sidewalks, roadsides, and curbs still occurs but has not been thoroughly handled. However, before waiting for the authorities to intervene, people and traders need to be aware of not selling pigs of unknown origin in the context of the extremely complicated developments of African swine fever.