All set for 'painless' culling of 6K pigs in Bulacan

MANILA, Philippines - It’s all systems go for local health authorities in Bulacan, as they prepare to kick off the mass culling of 6,000 pigs from a farm in Pandi town infected with the Ebola Reston virus (ERV). In his Balitanghali report, GMA News' Steve Dailisan said local authorities are just awaiting the arrival of the fuel that would be used for the burning. Authorities have readied the 15-foot pits were the hogs would be buried. After earlier consulting with various environment and animal welfare groups, local authorities have decided to use captive bolt pistols to incapacitate the hogs in the hopes of inflicting as little pain as possible before they are burned. A captive bolt pistol is a single-shot equipment that employs strong air pressure to disorient and stun animals. About 40 health workers – clad in special hog mask suits and are tasked to facilitate the depopulation – would then dump the pigs into 10 30x30-foot pits that can accommodate 600 pigs each. The pits are located some 30 feet from the infected pig farm. The pigs would only be killed inside the pit to prevent their bloods from squirting all over the place and prevent a spread of the virus. Once all dumped in the pits, the hogs would be torched using a special type of wood that has a natural disinfectant. People – even the media – are barred from going near the depopulation site to ensure that the virus does not get contracted. The mass killing – which is expected to cost the government around P500,000 – is expected to be completed in five days, and the farm’s owner would only be allowed to restart his hog facility six months after the depopulation. The depopulation order came after a number of pigs in the Pandi farm were found positive for ERV. All other farms subjected under quarantine from late 2008 to early this year have all yielded negative results. The government reiterated that it has only so far discovered six people being previously infected by the virus. Health authorities also assured that the ERV remains to be a low-health risk among humans. - GMANews.TV