Men remove dead pigs from the Huangpu River on March 10
Source: Netease
Economic Observer Online
By Ye Jingzi (叶静宇)
Mar 11, 2013
Translated by Li Jing
Original article: [Chinese]
Late last night, the official Sina Weibo account of China Central Television (CCTV) reported that as of 6pm on Mar 11, 3,323 dead pigs have been retrieved from sections of the Huangpu River in recent days.
This followed an official update from the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality that the dead pigs are likely to be from Jiaxing (嘉兴) in neighboring Zhejiang Province. Scientists from the Shanghai Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center arrived at this conclusion after examining the tags found in the ears of the dead pigs.
Earlier this month, media outlets in Jiaxing had also reported cases of farmers dumping dead pigs into local rivers.
The Shanghai Agriculture Commission (上海农委) has since been in contact with the Zhejiang Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau (浙江省畜牧兽医局) and the Jiaxing Agriculture Office (嘉兴市委农办), and has dispatched staff to the area to perusade authorities to take appropriate measures in order to put a stop to the dumping.
The Shanghai Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center has also been conducting multiple tests on the pig carcases that have been retrieved from the river. So far only one case of porcine circovirus (猪圆环病毒病) has been detected. Tests for other infectious diseases have all returned negative results. Experts say that porcine circovirus is a disease among pigs but isn't known to be infectious to humans.
The Shanghai government says that the Shanghai Environment Authority (上海环境保护局) and the Shanghai Water Authority (上海水务局) have been told to strengthen monitoring and inspection of water quality of the Huangpu river. The results revealed that the water quality in the upper reaches of the Huangpu River is relatively good, and drinking water in the districts of Songjiang, Jinshan, Minhang and Fengxian are all in line with national standards.
Links and Sources
The Beijing News: 上海自来水符合饮用标准
