BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry said the majority of the early cases of African swine fever were related to the practice of farmers feeding kitchen waste to pigs, according to a statement published on its website on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: Pigs are pictured at a farm on the outskirts of Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province November 30, 2011. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
The long distance transport of live hogs was the main route for transmission of the highly contagious disease across regions in China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said.
China will set up a registration system for vehicles transporting live hogs, poultry and other livestock, to control spread of the disease, the statement said.
China has already banned the transport of live hogs from regions where African swine fever outbreaks were found and neighboring provinces.
Reporting by Hallie Gu and Domonique Patton; Editing by Christian Schmollinger