Department of Agriculture (DA) and local government culled thousand of hogs after the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus reached San Simon, Pampanga.
The town’s Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. said DA slaughtered and buried at least 3,000 pigs at San Simon’s government center to prevent ASF from spreading.
“Some hog raisers reported that their pigs died due to the virus, so I already ordered the culling of the rest to immediately contain the virus,” Punsalan said.
San Simon is the first confirmed ASF case in Pampanga. The local government earlier banned the entry of pigs from other areas, especially from the nearby province Bulacan where the ASF outbreak was first reported.
Punsalan also said, as of now, the hog industry of San Simon, Pampanga, already lost P15,000,000 due to the African Swine Fever virus.
“We have about 70 hog raisers in town, most of them in barangays Concepcion and San Pedro. Although they vary in different categories, as we have commercial and backyard raisers, but all of them are suffering due to the virus,” he said.
The mayor, meanwhile, assured the affected hog raisers the local government and DA would give financial assistance depending on the number of pigs culled.
“We will be extending assistance to our affected hog raisers so they can recover from their losses. They will also definitely be receiving aid from the DA,” Punsalan said.
He likewise ordered the ban on the movement of pigs, both dead or alive, inside the municipality.
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