"Clean" wild boar breeders

(Baonghean) - With the method of raising semi-wild wild boars and using traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicinal plants for food and disease prevention, Mr. Tran Phuc Dat (born in 1965) in Tan Vinh hamlet, Tan Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) has built a reputable brand of "clean" wild boar farm with an annual income of hundreds of millions of dong.

"Retired from office" to go home to practice medicine and raise wild pigs

After being discharged from the army in 1988, Mr. Tran Phuc Dat returned to his locality and actively participated in the work of the Commune Youth Union. After working, studying and striving, he was elected Chairman of the People's Committee of Tan Thanh Commune. He is a capable and prestigious commune chairman trusted by the people and the government. However, in 2010, he submitted a request to "suspend his seal and resign". Mr. Dat confided: "My family has a traditional traditional medicine dispensing profession, so when my father was old and weak, I decided to quit my job in the commune to return to take over the profession. If I do not take over the position of commune chairman, someone else will do it, but if this traditional medicine dispensing profession is lost, it will be a sin against our ancestors and the people...". According to our research, Mr. Dat's family's traditional medicine dispensing profession has been famous and prestigious for generations. Mr. Tran Do, a local resident, said: “Mr. Dat is a virtuous and compassionate physician. He has cured thousands of patients. He does not charge poor patients for medicine, and even gives them money.

Mr. Tran Phuc Dat guides visitors around the wild boar farm.

With the traditional medicine profession and a few fields of contracted rice, his family's life was not rich but it was enough to live frugally in the heart of the village. However, the love of raising livestock and farming was always "hot" in him. Once watching TV and seeing a model of raising wild pigs, Mr. Dat thought: If he successfully raised wild pigs in a semi-wild style, he would earn a high income because wild pigs are a specialty. Thinking is doing, Mr. Dat researched and went to Quynh Luu to buy a pair of wild pigs to raise. However, after more than 8 months of care, both pigs suddenly died of blue ear disease. Failed but not discouraged, he looked for research documents on wild pig raising methods and bought the next 2 pairs of pigs. This time, with more experience, the 2 pairs of pigs reproduced after 1 year of raising... Gradually, he built a wild pig farm of more than 1 hectare with nearly 100 pigs, including breeding pigs, breeding pigs and breeding pigs.

Unique farming method

Taking us on a tour of the farm, Mr. Dat said that raising wild boars is easy, but not everyone can create a "clean" wild boar brand, ensuring food safety and hygiene, and being favored by consumers. According to Mr. Dat, wild boars are wild animals, so it is impossible to apply the same farming methods as domestic pigs. The first thing is to apply for a farming license. The barn is simple to make, however, it is necessary to understand some characteristics and habits of wild boars to arrange the barn, classify them by age. The barn must be cleaned every day, leftover food must be removed, and the feeding troughs and drinking troughs must be washed clean. Another important thing is that the fence must be strong and sturdy. According to our observations, his barn is built on high, airy land, with drainage for sanitation; there is a clean water source, not only providing enough for the pigs to drink but also maintaining a rich flora and keeping the appropriate humidity for wild boars. “Letting pigs roam in 1 hectare of forest is no different from wild pigs, but I have trained them to follow a schedule such as eating, sunbathing, “exercising” and entering the pen in an orderly manner. These things contribute to creating delicious and clean pork products.”

Another unique thing is that in addition to grass, plants, sprouts, roots, cereal grains, tubers and fruits, Mr. Dat also adds herbs and leaves of traditional Vietnamese and Chinese medicine to create resistance and prevent and fight diseases for wild pigs. “Wild pigs are wild animals that have just been domesticated, so they have high resistance and few diseases. However, wild pigs often suffer from some diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, septicemia, foot and mouth disease, liver flukes, scabies and some other common diseases. I have used traditional Vietnamese and Chinese medicine to make food and treat diseases so the pigs are always healthy, with good meat quality,” Mr. Dat shared about the secret to preventing and fighting diseases, but he also warned: “The food of wild pigs is mainly plants. Do not overuse nutritious food to feed wild pigs because it will change the quality of the meat and sometimes cause pigs to have digestive disorders causing diarrhea…”.

The unique methods have proven effective when the meat quality is good, the output of his wild boar products is favored by customers; each year brings in hundreds of millions of dong in income. Currently, Mr. Dat not only supplies breeding pigs and pork to farms and restaurants in Yen Thanh but is also a supplier to many districts and towns in Nghe An. Evaluating Mr. Dat's wild boar farming model, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh - Vice Chairman of Tan Thanh Commune People's Committee said: Mr. Dat's wild boar farm is the first model in Tan Thanh commune; it is effective and brings in high income. This is also a model that the local Party Committee and government are planning to organize for people to visit and learn in order to replicate.

Tien Dung