Sea-drifted garbage carrying pig carcasses invades Kinmen, coast guard finds the situation unusual
Kinmen today (the 4th) discovered a second sea-drifted pig! At 8:40 a.m., while conducting routine patrol at sea, coast guard personnel found a dead pig among a pile of sea-drifted garbage, and immediately notified the animal disease control center and carried out environmental disinfection.
Is a sea-drifted pig a common item of sea-drifted garbage? Members of the Ninth Coast Guard Corps said that since the organizational adjustment on April 28 last year, when the Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council took over coastal patrol work on Wuqiu, this was the first time a dead pig had been found, and there are no pig farms on the island, nor are there any passenger routes from Taiwan proper to the area; the only way to reach Wuqiu Township is through military supply ships, so the situation is unusual.
The Kinmen County Animal and Plant Disease Control Center (referred to as "Kinmen Disease Control Center") said it has dispatched personnel to the scene, expected to arrive by evening, and will complete sampling and testing as soon as possible to determine whether the pig was infected with African swine fever.
Drifting from China along the northeast monsoon, sampling work can only be completed in the evening
Wen Shuicheng, director of the Kinmen Disease Control Center, pointed out that there are no pig farms on Xiaoqiu Island, so it is inferred that the dead pig drifted over from China along the northeast monsoon and was not a pig raised locally in Kinmen. He said that after receiving the coast guard report in the morning, the disease control center immediately took a boat to the scene at noon, but because the northeast monsoon was strong, the waves were large, and Wuqiu Township is far from the main island of Kinmen, "it may not arrive until evening. Local personnel have been asked to pull the sea-drifted pig ashore to prevent it from being washed away by the waves, and a cordon has also been set up." However, he admitted that on-site handling takes time, and sampling work may only be completed in the evening, with test results not available until tomorrow or the day after.
Coast guard brothers: Prepare for a long-term battle
In addition, the Coast Guard Administration pointed out that in order to prevent Kinmen from falling to African swine fever from mainland China, the Coast Guard Administration has activated disease prevention mechanisms. In addition to increasing the density of coastal patrols, it will also expand the scope of sea patrols, and at the same time thoroughly disinfect the area around the sea-drifted pig to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Coast guard brothers emphasized that they would rather do more than less, and are prepared for a long-term battle.