Egypt's cull of its pig population is regarded as unnecessarily brutal, reports Reem Leila A YouTube video clip showing pigs being culled in Egypt has caused outrage among animal rights activists. The clip, posted by independent daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Yom, includes images of pigs being beaten with iron bars, piglets being stabbed and animals being kicked into bulldozers. Since being posted on YouTube this weekend it has sparked horrified reactions. Egypt, which has yet to report a single case of the H1N1 virus, is the only country in the world to have ordered a cull of all pigs. Until now 30,000 pigs out of an estimated pig population of 350,000 have been slaughtered and more than 500 pig farms closed down. The video shows pigs being buried alive after being doused in corrosive chemicals. Other pictures obtained by independent and opposition newspapers show pigs that have been disemboweled. Hoda Abaza, an animal right's activists, said "the pigs are covered with chemical products then left for 30 or 40 minutes until they are dead before being thrown into ditches." Hamed Samaha, head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services (GAVS), denies that any animals have been killed with chemicals. "These are disinfectants," he says. "The throats of the animals are very thick due to the concentration of fat around the neck. The pigs are first stabbed with an iron bar in the heart before they are buried. This is the usual way of slaughtering them." "It will take a few months before the cull is completed. There are not enough slaughter houses. We are planning to build three new ones to increase capacity to more than 3,000 pigs a day instead of just 1650." The cull has been controversial from the very beginning. On 3 May riot police clashed with stone-throwing pig farmers who were attempting to prevent their animals from being taken away. Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George has sent letters to all of Egypt's governors detailing sanitary ways to dispose of slaughtered pigs. The ministry has advised everyone involved in disposing of pigs to wear the specified uniform and has also dedicated special cars to carry pigs to designated burial grounds. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has criticised the way in which pigs are being killed and has asked all concerned authorities to be more humane in their treatment of the animals. He was joined by the speaker of the People's Assembly, Fathi Sorour, who has demanded the cull be conducted in a more civilised manner. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there is no scientific justification for the cull. So far 39 countries have reported a total of 9,830 cases of influenza H1N1 virus. On 15 May the WHO warned that the H1N1 virus is so contagious it will spread to so far unaffected regions. Its most recent report on the virus suggests a "significant number of people" are likely to be infected but remain unaware that they have the virus. "The virus is transmissible enough that we can expect to see continued outbreaks and regional spread," says Hassan El-Bushra, head of WHO's regional office. "There will probably be periods of intense activity." El-Bushra also predicts the behaviour of the virus will change depending on the seasons. The virus, he warns, has "a very different pattern" from normal, seasonal flu with up to half of fatalities so far occurring among young and otherwise healthy adults.
