In eastern China’s Zhejiang province, thieves are stealing dead pigs and selling them to be used in duck feed or in the pork black market, reports Zhejiang Economic TV in a recent broadcast.
Although epidemic prevention laws require special treatment of pigs that died of unknown causes, the procedure is expensive. In Xiaoshan, there are more than 30 large pig farms with over 10,000 pigs, and several hundred households raising pigs for a living. Local farmers usually dig a deep pit to bury any dead pigs, and avoid the cost of the special treatment.
The manager of Yongwang Pig Farm in Xiaoshan, Mr. Shen, spoke with the station about the theft of the buried pigs: “There are a lot of these thieves! They follow you secretly. Right after you bury the dead pigs, they come and dig them out.”
Niu Quanfu, a duck farm manager, added that these thieves often turn the stolen dead pigs into duck feed, or sell them on the black market.
The news spread widely online, as netizens responded with shock and frustration.
One netizen, with the alias of “A critically ill patient”, complained, “The rich flee to other countries. Government officials have their own special food supplies. The remaining billion plus people cheat and swindle each other. Do you feel this kind of life is worth living?”
“Now we have to take duck out of our diet, and the same is true for duck’s eggs,” another netizen said.
Disparaging the Communist Party’s regime, a third posted, “This is the outcome of 30 years’ of emphasizing China’s characteristics. Do any of the top officials dare to say that they are not aware of the situation? Which one of them has ever tried to solve the problem?”
In a related issue, Global China Network reported that it is a common practice in China to use chicken, duck, and pigeon dung in pig feed. It it unknown whether the fermented dung would contain active viruses and bacteria.
Read the original Chinese article.
Translation by Olivia Li. Written in English by Carol Wickenkamp.
