Agartala: The veterinary team along with police and local administration launched pig culling on Friday in three villages of Khowai following the detection of African Swine Flu in a private piggery farm at Ramchandraghat early this week, said Minister for Animal Resources Development (ARD) Sudhangsu Das here.
To prevent the further spread of infection, the department has declared a one-kilometer radius of the farm as an infected zone while the villages falling within 10 kilometres are surveillance zones. The culling of all pigs commences in Jamira Para of West Sonatala, Batapura East Ramchandraghat, and Nandipara of North Ramchandraghat.
”With the report of sudden fever and sedative behaviour among pigs in the firm owned by one Rabindra Das, ARD experts after primary investigation sent to sample to North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Guwahati where infection of African Swine Flu was confirmed, and accordingly, the decision of culling was taken,” Das said.
“We shall pay an assistance of Rs 2,200 to the affected farmers for each pig weighing 15 kg, Rs 5,800 for every pig weighing 40 kg, and Rs 15,000 for each pig weighing 100 kg as compensation while the movement of pigs in the infected zone and surveillance zone has been banned until further order,” Das stated.
According to report, ARD authority had put restrictions on pig import in Tripura about a month ago after getting an alert of African Swine Flu in a few Northeastern states but was not persuaded by Railway authorities about the decision and failed to convince the piggery farmers.
As a result, piglet consignments from outside the state were imported in a few locations, which are believed to be the source of the infection.
The experts, however, advised to avoid pork for the next few weeks because infection in the farm has been at least two weeks and the department announced a ban on Thursday that a good window period was there to transport out pigs from the area and there is an apprehension of the infection in other areas too.
