Al-Masry Al-Youm received two contradictory reports on the number of pigs in Egypt. The first says Egypt is free of pigs after slaughtering 152,934 heads. The second stresses that Egypt had more than 156,000 pigs before the campaign of executing pigs. This means that over 3,000 pigs might have been smuggled. Official sources at the Ministry of Agriculture said the official statistics are not accurate and the actual numbers of pigs exceeds these figures by more than 100,000 heads.
A report by the General Authority for Veterinary Services said Egypt is free of pigs following the campaign launched by the veterinary services nationwide under a Cabinet decision to execute and slaughter all herds of pigs. Such a campaign was launched after it was proven that the random pig farms do not meet the international standards and thus threaten people with bird flu and swine flu.
Hamid Samaha, the authority chairman, said all pigs in Katamia district were executed and slaughtered last Tuesday, bringing the total number of the executed pigs to 152,934. This means that Egypt has become free of pigs. The previous pig farms are being sterilized. Samaha appealed to people nationwide to report on any smuggled pigs so that the authority can take the necessary measures against the offenders and execute their pigs. Twenty four pigs smuggled to the Red Sea governorate have been executed.
Another report by the same authority said 146,702 pigs were executed and 6,232 others slaughtered, bringing the total number of the executed pigs to 152,934. Egypt has no more pigs. There is a clear contradiction between the two reports. This means that some 3,122 pigs were smuggled. This casts doubts on the authenticity of the Ministry of Agriculture's statistics. High-level official sources said the authority issued the second report to get around the fact that 3,000 pigs at least were smuggled to desert areas.
In a related context, a delegation from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) will pay a visit to Egypt on July 4-8 to agree on the establishment of new pig farms in accordance with the international standards adopted by the OID, and approved by Egypt in 2005 under an official agreement.
The delegation will visit other proposed areas for breeding pigs if the Egyptian government approved to follow a scientific, health and environmental way of breeding pigs, instead of the random way, which depends on using the rubbish of Greater Cairo as food for pigs.
