Pork business resumes in Sheema and Bushenyi districts

BUSHENYI-Piggery farmers, businessmen and consumers in Bushenyi and Sheema districts are excited after the district veterinary department partially lifted the quarantine on the pork business.

The districts had been attacked by African swine fever, a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages.

According to scientists, though the disease is not a food safety issue, it has no cure and no vaccine and its mortality rate can reach up to 100 percent.

Dr. Joseph Amanya, district veterinary officer [Sheema] said no new cases of the disease have been reported since July 15, 2022, even though the temporary quarantine was imposed in the area on June 27, 2022.

“Last cases were reported around July 15.  We have not had any new cases as the samples for suspected cases in Ngarama and Bugongi sub-counties tested negative, which made us ease the measures,” said Amanya.

According to Amanya, some of the temporary measures that had been put in place, including the suspension of slaughtering of pigs and closing of pork joints.

Moses Bugyendo, the Bushenyi Municipal Council animal husbandry officer confirmed pork business has been reopened in Kabagarame, a renowned pork market.

Bugyendo said that every Saturday, about 200 pigs are slaughtered in Kabagarame market due to the high demand.

“The market employs over 400 people every Saturday. As council, we collect some money from the premise so we have been losing revenue for four months,” he said

Amon Rutakirwa, a pork dealer at Nyakabirizi trading centre thanked the district for easing the measures to allow them to resume the pork business.

Rutakirwa said on a good day he would sell about 50 kilogrammes of pork before the quarantine was imposed due to the outbreak of African swine fever in the area.

Rutakirwa said he is ready to sell more than 50 kilogrammes of pork every day after the quarantine was temporarily lifted by district authorities.

Benjamin Mukasa, a truck driver who uses Mbarara-Bushenyi road was happy that the pork business has resumed in Sheema and Bushenyi, adding that he had missed eating it for the last four months.

“Now that people have been allowed to slaughter pigs, I am going to eat what I missed during the temporary quarantine,” Mukasa said.

However, the movement of pigs across the districts is still restricted until 30 days elapse, Bugyendo added.

Dr. Amaya said Since December 2021, Sheema and Bushenyi have lost about 400 pigs to African swine fever.

In June 2022, we lost about 40 pigs. Almost every year, there is an outbreak of African swine fever in either of the districts of Mbarara, Bushenyi, Sheema, Ntungamo,” Amanya said.

https://thecooperator.news/mbarara-women-receive-training-in-meat-processing/

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