Govt ban import of pigs, piglets amid swine flu cases

Considering the sporadic incidents of Swine Flu cases in different parts of the country, Tripura government has imposed a ban on the import of pigs and piglets from other parts of the country.

The Animal Resource Development (ARD) Minister Sudangshu Das on Wednesday said that keeping in view the sporadic incidents of African Swine Flu (ASF) in different parts of the country during the past one week and  as precautionary measures, the state government has totally banned the import of pig and piglet from outside the state.

He said that if anyone is found violating the government's decision, they would be penalized and an act would also be enacted on the ban so that if anyone found illegally importing pig into Tripura, the department can take severe legal action.

Das said that doctors of the ARD Department are working and monitoring the situations and time to time samples are being sent to the disease investigation labs for examination for ASF so that if anything is found wrong then immediate action can be taken up.

The outbreak of Swine Flu is reported in few Northeastern, Southern and Northern states of the country and from these diseases hit regions, pig and piglets are being imported often.

The highly-contagious ASF created havoc in Mizoram during 2021 and 2022, killing over 33,400 pigs, affecting over 10,000 families besides causing financial loss of Rs 61 crore. Around 12,000 pigs were culled in Mizoram in 2021 and 2022.