Sibu council to publicise number of pigs slaughtered to counter rumours of pork shortage

SIBU: The Sibu Municipal Council will announce the number of pigs butchered at the slaughterhouse in Jalan Ding Lik Kong here to address rumours of a pork supply shortage.

Council chairman Clarence Ting Ing Horh said the rumours started up following the ban on pork delivery from Kuching.

Ting said the butchering of pigs at the slaughterhouse was carried out from Wednesday to Sunday each week, while pork was sold on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

"Yesterday (Thursday, Jan 20), 242 pigs were slaughtered there, a decrease of about 10% from the daily numbers before the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Sibu,” he said in a statement on Friday (Jan 21).

Three pig farms in the district were reportedly affected by ASF on Jan 10 and the Sarawak Veterinary Services Department took immediate measures to curb the spread of the disease.

As a safety and control measure, the Sibu slaughterhouse had also stopped handling animals from unlicensed pig farms.

Normally, 20 out of 100 pigs slaughtered there came from unlicensed farms. – Bernama