Marikina seeks DA probe on dead pigs found in river

The Marikina City government on Thursday said it will ask the Department of Agriculture (DA) to probe the incident where dead pigs were found floating in Marikina River.

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Citing a report from the City Veterinary Office, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said one dead pig was found near the statue of "Marikit" at around 8 a.m., while another five dead pigs were found trapped in floating garbage at the river.

The other pigs are continuously being carried away by the current, with two of these retrieved near Kalumpang Chapel, and have already been buried.

As of 2 p.m., there were 16 dead pigs carried away by the current from the site along Bayabas St. in Barangay Nangka.

"There is no slaughterhouse or piggery in Marikina. The dead pigs could have been from the upstream of Rizal," Teodoro said.

On Monday, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said 14 of the 20 blood samples from pigs sent to the United Kingdom for laboratory examination tested positive for the highly contagious African swine fever.

The tests were done after reports of the unusual number of pig deaths in backyard farms in the province of Rizal.

On Wednesday, three dead pigs were found in an area near a creek in Barangay Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.

Reports said the Quezon City Veterinary Office took tissue samples from the carcasses of the animals to be tested for ASF.

Last month, Dar has ordered the deployment of local government unit meat inspection services enforcement teams to closely monitor all public and private meat markets and outlets in view of the reported increase in swine mortalities in Bulacan and Rizal provinces.

Dar also directed all provincial/city/municipal veterinary officers to continue implementing precautionary measures to ensure food safety and food security.

Such measures include the prohibition of transporting of live animals, meat products, and meat by-products unless accompanied by veterinary health certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian and shipping permit issued by Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and its regional veterinary quarantine offices; and the setting up of quarantine checkpoints in all ingress and egress from their respective provinces and municipalities.

They were also ordered to report to the BAI any unusual number of swine mortalities in their respective locality; and educate swine farmers to observe good animal husbandry practices and biosecurity measures such as putting foot baths, regular disinfection of farms, vaccination, and deworming.

"All animals brought to the slaughterhouse should be checked for fever and signs of diseased conditions. Diseased animals shall be condemned and properly disposed as per BAI procedures," he said.

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