Agartala, Sep 19 (UNI) The culling operation of pigs in Uricherra of Subhash Nagar ADC village in Kanchanpur of North Tripura began today after Northeastern Regional Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory, Guwahati tested tissue samples of suspected pigs positive for African Swine fever, said Director of Animal Resource Development Dr K Sashi Kumar.
He said Exotic Pig Breeding Farm of Kanchanpur has been declared the epicentre of the disease as per the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animal Act. The department has issued restrictions on the movement of pigs in the area and one kilometre radius from the epicentre has been declared an infected zone while 10 km area has been declared as surveillance zone.
“As of now, 96 pigs have been identified for culling and the bodies would go for deep burring as per our standard protocol, as the disease is highly infectious and also risky for human beings too. All the pigs identified for culling belong to the private owners and they will be provided compensation based on the size of the pig ranging from Rs 2200 to Rs 15000,” Dr Sashi Kumar said.