Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Hong Kong will cull 3,000 pigs after detecting African swine fever at a local pig farm, keeping the city alert for further spread.
The virus was first discovered at a facility in Yuen Long last week and transport of pigs from the farm has been suspended, according to Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation division. The 3,000 pigs are culled “as soon as possible” and owners receive a fee, the department said Tuesday.
Hong Kong sources most of its pigs from mainland China, which reported the first outbreak of African swine fever in 2018. The incurable disease has nearly halved the swine herd in China, reducing pork production and pushing imports and prices of the country’s favorite meat to record highs. Hong Kong had discovered the disease in pigs imported from the mainland in May 2019.
The latter case has no influence on the operation of local slaughterhouses, nor on the total supply of live pigs, the department said. Authorities will continue to investigate and track down the source of the virus, while inspections of local pig farms are stepped up.
– With help from John Liu and Shuping Niu