A Dutch MEP has described Chinese culling of pigs infected with African Swine fever (ASF) as “an extremely inhumane and brutal culling option”.
Annie Schreijer-Pierik from the Netherlands is a member of parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee.
Burying alive
“Culling is the tried and tested method of controlling ASF. However, what is happening in China is that the pigs are cruelly slaughtered by burying them alive,” she wrote in The Parliament magazine.
“Videos on Twitter show thousands of pigs being brought to a pit and pushed in by machines.
"Witness statements corroborate that the pigs are then buried alive. Previous videos from last autumn even show pigs being burned alive,” she said.
Animal cruelty
Schreijer-Pierik said the acts of animal cruelty in China were in clear breach of the international World Organisation for Animal Health standards on the killing of animals for disease control purposes, which state that “when animals are killed for disease-control purposes, methods used should result in immediate death or immediate loss of consciousness lasting until death”.
“China’s actions are of significant concern and need to be responded to swiftly,” insisted the MEP.
Farmers in China may be burying the animals alive in order stop the spread by reducing the amount of blood, she claimed.
However, she warned that the virus could potentially leach into the soil or into water sources.
“The long-term and biosecurity risks posed by the mass burial of pigs infected with ASF are unknown and should be taken into consideration, particularly given regular trade between China and the EU,” the MEP said.
Read more
Threat of African Swine Fever laid bare
Chinese pork imports forecast to jump 40% this year
Global meat prices to soar as Chinese shortage bites
A Dutch MEP has described Chinese culling of pigs infected with African Swine fever (ASF) as “an extremely inhumane and brutal culling option”.
Annie Schreijer-Pierik from the Netherlands is a member of parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee.
Burying alive
“Culling is the tried and tested method of controlling ASF. However, what is happening in China is that the pigs are cruelly slaughtered by burying them alive,” she wrote in The Parliament magazine.
“Videos on Twitter show thousands of pigs being brought to a pit and pushed in by machines.
"Witness statements corroborate that the pigs are then buried alive. Previous videos from last autumn even show pigs being burned alive,” she said.
Animal cruelty
Schreijer-Pierik said the acts of animal cruelty in China were in clear breach of the international World Organisation for Animal Health standards on the killing of animals for disease control purposes, which state that “when animals are killed for disease-control purposes, methods used should result in immediate death or immediate loss of consciousness lasting until death”.
“China’s actions are of significant concern and need to be responded to swiftly,” insisted the MEP.
Farmers in China may be burying the animals alive in order stop the spread by reducing the amount of blood, she claimed.
However, she warned that the virus could potentially leach into the soil or into water sources.
“The long-term and biosecurity risks posed by the mass burial of pigs infected with ASF are unknown and should be taken into consideration, particularly given regular trade between China and the EU,” the MEP said.
Read more
Threat of African Swine Fever laid bare
Chinese pork imports forecast to jump 40% this year
Global meat prices to soar as Chinese shortage bites
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