Gov't to cull pigs in Paju, Gimpo to stop swine fever

Quarantine officials inspect a pig farm in Paju, north of Seoul, Friday. /Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The government will buy or cull all pigs within a three-kilometer radius of infected farms in the northwestern Gyeonggi Province cities of Gimpo and Paju, as part of efforts to stem the spread of African swine fever (ASF).

Since the first case of the deadly animal disease was confirmed on Sept. 17, the number of cases has increased to 13. The decision by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs follows the confirmation of four new cases in the two regions ― two on Wednesday and two on Thursday.

The ministry said the decision was made after consulting the local governments of Paju and Gimpo. According to quarantine regulations, all pigs in a three-kilometer radius of infected farms must be culled.

“All pigs outside the three-kilometer boundary will be sent to slaughterhouses, where quarantine officials will check if they have the virus,” a ministry official said. “Pigs that pass the test will be butchered for meat. Otherwise, they will be culled as a precaution.”

In a similar move, the ministry earlier culled all pigs on Incheon's Ganghwa Island, where five confirmed cases were reported.

Although ASF is not harmful to humans, it is fatal and highly contagious among pigs. No vaccines or cures are available. The disease is typically spread by leftover feed or by direct contact with people or wild animals carrying the virus.

Culling is considered the only way to prevent the spread of the disease.

The government had culled more than 100,000 pigs as of Friday morning. This will rise to more than 150,000 when the rest are slaughtered.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense ordered front-line troops to shoot any wild boars trying to cross the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border after traces of the infectious animal virus were found in a dead wild boar inside the DMZ earlier this week.

It was the first time the virus has been found in a wild boar since August last year, when the disease broke out in China. More than 1,100 wild boars have been tested so far.

The latest decision is in contrast to the government's previous stance of playing down the possibility of the virus being transmitted from North Korea.

During a National Assembly audit hearing on Wednesday, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said the military alert system in South Korea was so tight that no wild boars could enter from the North.

Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae also said during a National Assembly hearing on the day that the virus could have spread in another way, including contaminated water from North Korea or other wild animals.

Earlier in the day, a new suspected case has been reported on Baengnyeong Island off Incheon, but tested negative, according to the ministry.