HOG farmers in Davao City are urged to report signs of weakening pigs as authorities are tracing meat allegedly coming from Davao del Sur.
This was revealed by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in a press conference Monday, February 10.
“Karon naa tay gina-trace nga allegedly meat coming from Davao del Sur na nakasulod diri so ginapangita nato to sila then we ask the cooperation of everyone kung nasakit ang inyuhang mga baboy, pahibalo dayon sa City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) para maka-act sila accordingly,” she said.
(At present, we are tracing meat that allegedly came from Davao del Sur that entered here. We are tracing it and we ask for everyone’s cooperation if your pigs are sick, inform the City Veterinarian’s Office so that they can act accordingly.)
She surmised that the African Swine Fever (ASF) also has an incubation period.
“Possibly, dunay baboy nga nisulod nga wala pay sakit unya nag manifest siya’g signs and symptoms sa sakit diri na sa sulod sa Davao City,” she said.
“Ang atong CVO gitabangan sa atong Task Force Davao kay diha man sila nag co-locate sa mga checkpoints nato but usahay man gud ang baboy dili siya mag manifest og sakit kay naa pud siya’y incubation period,” she added.
Pigs from Luzon, province of Davao Occidental, and Sulop and Malalag towns in Davao del Sur are covered in the existing pork import ban of the city.
Duterte-Carpio also said the authorities have also been regulating an identified entry point in barangay Lacson in Calinan District and exits in barangay Mandug which the mayor described as “highly-unlikely”.
“Highly unlikely kay layo kayo ang byahe so kung ako magtravel og baboy dili nako na again kay mugasto ko og dako kayo from calinan tapos mugawas ka og Mandug pero kung gustohon gyud, pwede again ang area,” she said.
She added checkpoints have already been installed in said entry point.
The mayor assured that ASF-positive pigs as well as the piglets surrendered by the backyard farmers for culling will be paid by the city.
She said they have already started giving cash assistance to the farmers from the P20 million budget released by the city.
Pigs in Calinan District which will be included in depopulation will be bought at a farmgate price while the sucklings will be bought for P1,500.
However, the hog farmers cannot raise a pig for the next three months.