If the pigs that were supposed to be culled in Carcar City are still alive right now, then the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 has a lot of explaining to do.
You see, if indeed the African swine fever (ASF) was detected among the city’s pig population on March 1, 2023, then all the pigs within the 500-meter radius of the “infected” animal would have been dead by now.
And they would have died not because they were indiscriminately killed but because they succumbed to the highly fatal disease, which usually has a 100 percent mortality rate.
According to the information I gathered from the internet, infected pigs die within 10 days, at the very most.
Now, do the math.
Still, I will give the DA 7 the benefit of the doubt.
After all, its employees are trained to combat such infections. They underwent specialized training to solve this problem. Let’s face it, that’s why they’re there. It’s their job to address the matter.
And yet, they still have to answer Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s questions.
Didn’t they break protocol when they tested pigs that were slaughtered in an abattoir in Carcar City? Sick pigs don’t get slaughtered for human consumption. So if that was the case, then why did the DA 7 go to an abattoir to look for pigs to test?
If you follow the logic, those pigs had to have been healthy. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been killed because they would have been inspected before they literally went under the knife.
Also, did the DA 7 conduct a confirmatory test?
They just said the pigs tested positive for ASF and that was that. They expected the public to take their word without question. But they failed to figure in the indomitable governor in their equation.
By the way, she was right to raise those questions. And the public deserves to know the answers.
After all, not only is an P11 billion hog industry at stake, but the livelihood of hundreds if not thousands of backyard hog raisers.
So did the DA 7 make a mistake in Carcar City? If it did, there’s no harm in admitting it. People make mistakes all the time. Albeit some more than others, but you know what I mean.
There’s nothing wrong with being sure, sure.
Last March 15, Dr. Daniel Ventura Jr., ASF coordinator of the DA 7, revealed that ASF cases had also been found in other parts of Cebu province but he would not say where.
I don’t know if he’s aware that he’s only adding to the confusion and the fear that Cebuanos are currently experiencing because of the DA’s lack of transparency.
Why not just answer the questions?