Bacolod City – More cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) were detected in three barangays of Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental, based on reports of the Bureau of Animal Industry, disclosed City Agriculturist Ricky Muscosa recently.
After being informed of positive ASF cases, Muscosa said they immediately implemented culling within the 500-meter radius where hogs died, and also extended assistance to affected hog raisers in burying their dead pigs.
Muscosa, however said the number of hog deaths appeared to be slowing down, as they were able to cordon the affected ASF areas of Barangays 6, Linao and Binicuil.
As of the July 9 report of the Provincial Animal Biosecurity Incident Management Team, Kabankalan City has logged 792 hog deaths, representing 4.39 percent of its 18,021-pig population.
Muscosa also reported that they also localized the slaughtering of pigs in Kabankalan City and strengthened monitoring in the barangays.
On the other hand, the swine population of San Enrique town has been almost wiped out by various hog diseases, with 22 hogs left out of its 2,692-pig population.
Mayor Jilson Tubillara said the pigs who survived the outbreak of swine diseases were eating spinach and rice hulls.
“Those who were fed with feeds were the ones who died,” Tubillara said.
Pig mortalities in San Enrique have been primarily blamed on hog cholera.
Tubillara said that the regional office of the Department of Agriculture has not returned to San Enrique to take samples, noting that almost all of their hogs have been wiped out by different diseases.
Pending further verification on the number of affected hog raisers, Tubillara said they have yet to release the financial assistance, which he expects to be lower than the amount he mentioned earlier, which ranged from P3,000 to P5,000 each. (Gilbert Bayoran via TVDS photo by TVDS)
