Sale of pork banned across Assam after 1,964 pigs die

Assam govt announced a ban on the sale of pork meat, the decision was taken against the backdrop of over a thousand “unnatural deaths” of pigs reported across the state.

Guwahati: After the death of 1,964 pigs across the state, the BJP- led government in Assam on Saturday banned selling and buying of pork meat throughout the state.

Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora informed that a total of 1,964 pigs have died in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Jorhat and Sivsagar districts so far due to an unidentified disease, forcing the government to ban the sale of pig meat or pork.

"The veterinarians are yet to ascertain the disease. We have collected samples from the dead and affected pigs and sent those to the ICAR National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease Laboratory at Bhopal," the minister said.

The development took place at a time when the whole state has been reeling under lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19. Assam has 34 COVID-positive cases in the state out of which one person died while several others recovered.

The government is also planning to declare the affected districts as a containment zone and movement of pig feeds and pigs will be banned in those districts.

He said that the government has also instructed the piggery farms to spray disinfectant in the farms and to burry those pigs dead of the disease at least six feet beneath the ground.

Pork is one of the favourite delicacies among the majority of the tribes in the region.

Amid the lockdown, the death of the pigs is a severe blow to the rural economy in Assam as the piggery industry is the backbone of the rural economy. The piggery industry in the northeastern region is about Rs. 3000 crore per year, the minister said.