BATU KAWAN: To date, a total of 23 pig farms in Penang have been found to be affected by the African swine fever (ASF), said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He said as of yesterday, a total of 7,998 pigs from six farms in Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) and Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) have been culled after they were found to be ASF positive.
“So far, the breakdown on ASF affected farms is as follows, 17 farms in the SPS district involving 42,691 pigs, two farms in SPT (2,742 pigs) and in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) four farms (7,842 pigs).
“All the pig carcasses were buried in the SPS area which are far from public settlements or at undeveloped locations, so as not to cause disturbance in the areas involved.
“We are also looking for a site in SPU to bury the culled animals,” he told reporters after attending the Batu Kawan parliamentary constituency Chinese New Year open house here today.
Elaborating, Chow said the Penang Veterinary Services Department (JPV) with the help of the local authorities had been able to deal with the ASF issue, especially in relation to the disposal of the infected pigs at the allocated sites.
He said Penang JPV was also being assisted by two JPV teams from Putrajaya in carrying out all ASF- related tasks including sampling and disposal of the dead or infected livestock.
“Last week the ASF threat was stable. Although two farms were newly hit, we do not rule out the possibility that the outbreak will continue to increase,” he said.
He added currently, there are 124 pig farms in Penang with a total of 267,348 pigs.
“To date, 101 pig farms have not been hit with the ASF disease where 35 of the farms are in SPS with a total of 97,104 animals, 60 farms in SPU (100,600 animals), two farms in SPT (5,539 animals) and four farms in Barat Daya (10,830 animals),” he said.
In this regard, Chow reminded pig farmers and the public to immediately report any death relating to wild boars, village pigs or commercial pigs to the Penang JPV via Disease Crisis Management Room hotline at 04-5041047. – BERNAMA
