More dead pigs were recently found floating in China's waterways, this time in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, after more than 14,000 swine carcasses were pulled from Shanghai's Huangpu River over the past two weeks.

Villagers from Sanmen county in Zhuzhou have pulled more than 100 dead pigs out of the floodway of the Xiangjiang River since March 14, with the heaviest carcass weighing more than 50 kilograms.

"This is not the first time we have seen dead pigs in the floodway," villagers told the China Youth Daily, adding that pig farmers from upstream have been secretly dumping dead animals into the floodway for the past five years. Villagers have stopped using water from the floodway because they fear that the water is polluted by the carcasses. They even keep livestock from drinking water from the floodway.

A spokesperson from the Zhuzhou water supply company said the floodway has been closely monitored and assured the public that the water quality has not been affected.

Liu Yaohua, deputy head of the Sanmen county, said local officials had seen dead pigs floating in the water previously, but failed to effectively stop the practice. Liu also noted that the exact source of the discarded pigs is still being investigated. No signs of a large-scale animal epidemic have been found in the area.

The incident coincides with the thousands of dead pigs found in the Huangpu River near Shanghai, which has shocked the city's residents.

Deng Yunbo, director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau in Hunan, said that a total of 605 dead animals, including pigs, chickens and ducks, have been reportedly found in waterways in Hunan Province by the night of March 19.

"In a province that raises 80 million pigs annually, what happened in Zhuzhou is only an individual case," he said.

Global Times