Pig farmers urged to follow appropriate procedures in the disposal of dead pigs

Pig farmers in the Ejisu Municipality have been urged to follow appropriate procedures in the disposal of the remains of pigs, which have died of the African swine fever.

Dr Marlon Mensah, Ashanti Regional Veterinary Officer who made the call, said the continued spread of the diseases in the area was due to the inappropriate disposal of infected pigs by farmers.

“When the infected animals die, since they die rapidly, the farmers dispose them in the open, this is causing the spread because the farmers dump the animals on the bare ground,” he said.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, Dr Mensah pointed out that, strict adherence to the directives would help stop the spread of the disease in the Municipality.

Ejisu Municipality, considered as the leading producer of pigs in the Ashanti region, has been hit by the African swine fever in recent weeks, killing many animals in pig farms.

Though, Dr Mensah could not tell the actual number of pigs, which have died as a result of the outbreak of the fever, the farmers estimated that about 3000 pigs from about 50 farms in the Municipality, have succumbed to the fever.

Mr. George Adjei, Secretary to the Pig Farmers Association in the Municipality, told the GNA, that over 50 farms were affected by the African swine fever resulting in loss of investment.

He appealed to the government to come to their aid to help them regain their source of livelihood.

Dr Mensah outlining some of the measures to halt the spread of the disease, stressed the need for the farmers to restrict the movement of their pigs outside the Municipality since the movement of the animals to different locality could trigger the spreading of the fever across the region.

He said effective education for the farmers among other measures, were being undertaking in the area to help contain the spread of the fever.

“We are educating the farmers on how the disease spreads, so they can alert authorities if their animals are dying, and also teaching them how to dispose of the dead animals, clean and disinfect their pens,” he revealed.

The Veterinary Officer assured consumers of pork that there was no need to worry, since the virus was not transferable to humans.

“There shouldn’t be any panic about pig products.

Those consuming can still consume it because the disease is not transferable to humans, so there is no cause for alarm,” he assured.