Egypt Slaughtering Hog Population
Officials admit cull is not anti-flu measure.
Compiled by staff
Published: Apr 30, 2009
Egypt has started the task of slaughtering its pig herds. Although initially the reason given was as a precaution against the H1N1 virus, even though no cases have been reported in that country, officials have admitted that there were other reasons for the move. The agriculture ministry's head of infectious diseases Saber Abdel Aziz Galal said that the cull was a general health measure.
"It is good to restructure this kind of breeding in good farms, not on rubbish," Galal said. "Now they live with dogs, cats, rats, poultry and humans, all in the same area with rubbish. We will build new farms in special areas, like in Europe. Within two years the pigs will return, but we need first to build new farms."
How many pigs were expected to die on Thursday wasn't speculated on, but Health Minister Amin Abaza said that the mass slaughter would begin in earnest on Saturday.
The government's action is infuriating farmers. At the minimum they want compensation for their losses; although ag officials say they will simply get their animal back as meat, but no compensation. Some farmers are fighting back. North of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers who came to slaughter their animals.
Most farmers in that region of the world are poor and will find it difficult to survive the pig slaughter. Only about 10% of Egyptians raise pigs. They are the Christian minority. Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shaheen estimates that there are between 300,000 and 350,000 pigs in Egypt. The decision to slaughter Egypt's hog population was announced after President Hosni Mubarack met with his cabinet. The slaughtering will use the full capacity of Egypt's slaughterhouses.
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