Chinese authorities are investigating dozens of dead pigs found along a section of the Yellow River, according to a state-supported media report, turning the spotlight on food and water security in the country.
Dozens of pig carcasses were discovered in the Inner Mongolia section of the country’s second longest river and some were rotting in the water, according to Banyuetan, a magazine run by the state news agency Xinhua. Local authorities are investigating the origin of the pigs and checking whether they have a disease, as well as disinfecting the area.
This is not the first time that China has found dead pigs in its rivers. In 2013, thousands of dead pigs have been discovered in Shanghai’s Huangpu River – some of which have been reported to be infected with swine circovirus disease – threatening the region’s water supply. A year later, the authorities withdrew more than 100 dead pigs from the Ganjiang River in the city of Nanchang.
The latest discovery comes at a time when China’s pig herd is recovering from the devastation of African swine fever. The disease broke out in the country in 2018 and destroyed almost half of the pigs of the world’s largest pig producer. Concerns about food security and the rising costs of pork production have accelerated growth close of small pig farms in favor of larger and more efficient facilities.
– With the help of John Liu and Shuping Niu