Cambodia

Driver Caught in Thailand Smuggling Pig Carcasses from Cambodia

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 19:07:54 GMT

Livestock and customs officials in Thailand seized about 1.5 metric tons of pork carcasses on Dec. 4. The pork was had been smuggled into Thailand’s eastern border province of Sa Kaeo from Cambodia, reports Thai PBS World .

The driver of the pickup truck transporting the pork was arrested after a brief chase, the article said. The driver allegedly admitted the carcasses were being delivered to a customer.

Thai businessmen will place an order for pig carcasses with their Cambodian counterparts, a livestock official told Thai PBS World. Then, they will arrange for the meat to be sent to a “rendezvous” somewhere near the Thai border, opposite Sa Kaew Province.

After the contraband is smuggled across the natural border, the article said a pickup truck is waiting to drive the meat to the buyers. To prevent being caught or attracting attention from police and security forces, the carcasses are typically covered with gunny bags.

In October, two shipments of smuggled pork were intercepted, with one of the shipments weighing about five metric tons.

The Thai Livestock Development Department said it is tightening controls on pork being smuggled into the country to prevent the possible spread of the highly infectious virus, African swine fever (ASF). Although ASF presents no food safety or health risk to humans, it is highly transmissible and deadly in both domestic and wild pigs.

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ASF Claims More Pigs in Cambodia as China Bans Imports

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:58:50 GMT

Agriculture department officials in Ratanakkiri province in northeast Cambodia said more than 700 pigs in O’Chum district died or were culled due to an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) on Monday.

The disease first struck hundreds of pigs in late March in the O’Yadav district.

“Our officials are monitoring the situation because there are no visible symptoms of ASF and the disease can only be detected if sickened animals die,” said Soy Sona, provincial agriculture department director in a Khmer Times article.

Despite a ban on the movement of pigs or pork in the province, some people are transporting pork products to sell in other villages, some of which is used for feeding pigs, Sona said.

“Because of the extremely hot weather, the pigs find it difficult to forage for food in the area, leading villagers to buy pork products to feed their animals,” Sona said. “We suspect that the animals fell sick after eating pork derived from infected animals.”

It’s also possible that the pigs contracted ASF from wild pigs while foraging for food in the forests, he added.

On April 11, Ratanakkiri Governor Thorng Savun issued a province-wide ban on the transport of pigs, pork and pork products to prevent the spread of ASF.

“The authorities, especially those at the international border entry points, must not allow the movement of pigs, pork or pork products to or from the province until further notice,” he said.

Meanwhile, China banned imports of pigs, wild boars and related products from Cambodia on April 29. This comes as China’s battle with ASF has now spread to every province and region on its mainland since it was first detected in early August.

ASF poses no risk to human health but affects both domestic pigs and wild boars. For more information and the latest news on ASF, visit porkbusiness.com/ASF .

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African Swine Fever Strikes Cambodia

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:06:52 GMT

Cambodia reported its first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in backyard pigs near the Vietnam border, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday. Vietnam was struck by ASF in February.

Nearly 400 pigs were killed by ASF in Soamkanign in the Rattanakiri province during an outbreak that began on March 22, according to the Cambodian agriculture ministry. Another 100 pigs were killed and disposed of, Reuters reported.

Neighboring Thailand’s concern continues to grow as ASF moves closer. Thailand’s pork industry is worth $3.3 billion a year.

The ASF virus, which is deadly and highly transmissible among pigs but is harmless to humans, has been spreading rapidly across China, home to the world’s largest hog herd. The OIE said that nearly all of China’s provincial level administrative units have reported one or more ASF breaks.

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