Pork sale not banned in Nilgiris: Animal husbandry dept

COIMBATORE: Animal husbandry department in the Nilgiris has clarified that sale of pork is not banned in the district. A senior official in the department said, "The sale of pork is prohibited only within the zone in Theppakadu where several wild boars died of African Swine Fever (ASF) recently.

However, pork can be sourced into the infected zone from places where ASF has not been reported. So, we have been restricting traders who are bringing live pigs into the district at the eight check posts including seven on the Kerala border and one on the Karnataka border."

Further, the official said they have been monitoring ten farms across the district in which as many as 1,110 pigs are maintained. So far, ASF has not been reported in domestic pigs, though 30 wild boars have died in the region, indicating the infection has not spread from wild boars, he added.