Preventing African Swine Fever Virus, Lembata Bans Cross-Breeding Pigs

JAKARTA - The government of Lembata Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has issued several policies to prevent the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the area.

One of them, according to the Head of the Lembata Livestock Service Office, Kanisius Tuaq, through the ban on the traffic of pigs.

"We prohibit livestock traffic from and to Lembata and between sub-districts in order to reduce the spread of the ASF virus," Kanisius said.

The ASF virus began attacking pigs belonging to residents in Lembata in November 2020 and is still ongoing today. The number of pigs that died from the ferocity of the virus was 856.

In addition to the prohibition of the traffic of pigs as a prevention scheme, the Livestock Service Office also requires pen biosecurity and a ban on slaughtering sick cattle.

"On the other hand, we also educate the public through social media as an effort to prevent the spread of the ASF virus," he said.

Kanisius explained that to prevent the spread of ASF transmission, the local government has also prepared a mass burial site for the dead pigs.

His party noted that of the 856 pigs that died, 390 were evacuated to be buried en masse, while the rest were buried by residents or livestock owners themselves.

"We have announced that every dead pig is buried properly in their respective places and it is ensured that it will not cause environmental pollution," he said.