Guwahati: Nearly 39,000 pigs have died of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Assam in the last one and a half years, the Assembly was informed on Wednesday.
In a written reply to a query by BJP MLA Chakradhar Gogoi, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora said 38,700 pigs died due to ASF since its detection in the north- eastern state in 2020.
As many as 13,200 families have been economically affected as a result of the pig deaths, the minister said.
However, the government has not paid any compensation to the affected families as the matter is under the jurisdiction of the Centre, Bora said.
As per central rules, there is a provision of paying compensation based on the culling of ASF-affected pigs.
“Still, the Assam government is considering the matter and has introduced a scheme to compensate the pig farmers in 2021-22,” the minister informed the House.
On September 23 last, former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had ordered the culling of nearly 12,000 pigs in the ASF-affected areas and asked officials concerned to compensate the owners adequately.
According to the 2019 census by the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, the pig population in the state was 21 lakh, which has increased to around 30 lakh in recent times, Bora had said last year.
The African Swine Fever, which was first detected in the country in Assam in February 2020, affects both domestic and wild pigs.
While swine flu can spread from animals to humans, ASF cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. There is no vaccine for the disease.