The number of pigs that have been slaughtered and executed in the national campaign to combat swine flu increased to 38,000 as at yesterday. Hamid Samaha, Chairman of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, said 3424 pigs were executed in Giza and 1025 in Qalyubia. The total number of the slaughtered pigs reached 2354 compared to 35,764 executed nationwide.
In addition, 24 pigs have been executed in the Red Sea, Samaha said, confirming that security bodies trace any smuggling attempts. He said he gave strict instructions to the slaughterhouses and veterinary medicine directorates nationwide to cancel holidays and declare the state of emergency in the coming days, even in provinces where there are no pigs, so as to avoid smuggling. The recent agreement with Cairo Governor Abdel Azim Wazir to slaughter the pigs of Helwan and Qalyubia on Thursdays and Fridays in Basateen abattoir will greatly contribute to increasing the rates of slaughter. New wards will be opened in Munib, Giza and Qalyubia slaughterhouses so that a bigger number of pigs could be slaughtered.
Giza decided yesterday to execute the rest of the pigs, 21,000 in numbers, because there are not enough places for slaughter and storage.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the head of the Veterinary Medicine Directorate Sayeed Gad al-Mawla said the pig farm owners agreed to have their pigs executed. The compensations they already got reached some LE 1.7 million till now. Ahmed Nassar, head of the General Authority for Cleanliness and Beautification, said two vehicles and a crane will transfer the garbage accumulated in Ard al-Liwa and Me'temedia districts. In addition, special equipment would spray and clean stables. Helwan started its campaign to get rid of the pigs yesterday. It executed 1000 pigs and buried them at a depth of 10 meters and 5 meters in diameter. The pigs have been plastered with quicklime and buried in a cemetery owned by a garbage company in May 15 City. With regard to the avian flu, the Ministry of Environment uncovered a regional project in the participation of 11 countries along the migration route of birds: Jordan, Lebanon, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to avoid the transmission of the epidemic to Egypt or any of those States.
