Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Hong Kong will kill 3,000 pigs after detecting African swine fever at a local pig farm, alerting the city to further spread.
The virus was first discovered last week at a facility in Yuen Long and the transport of pigs from the farm was suspended, according to the Hong Kong Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation. The 3,000 pigs will be slaughtered “as soon as possible” and the owners will be compensated, the department he said Tuesday.
Hong Kong finds its pigs in much of mainland China, which reported the first outbreak of African swine fever in 2018. The incurable disease has reduced China’s pig population by almost half, reducing pork production and sending imports and prices of meat preferred. of the country at maximum values. Hong Kong had detected the disease in pigs imported from the mainland in May 2019.
The last case it does not affect the operation of local slaughterhouses or the general supply of live pigs, the department said. Authorities will continue to investigate and track the source of the virus while stepping up inspections of local pig farms.
– With the assistance of John Liu and Shuping Niu