Sibu pork dealers appeal to authorities for stringent checks

SIBU: Sibu Pork Dealers Association has appealed to the authorities concerned to check on pigs sent to slaughter house to ensure “healthy and high-quality pork supply.”

The association pointed out that the Sibu slaughterhouse is the last line of defense for such checks.

It stressed the importance of alertness, strict inspections and checks in all aspects of problem prevention.

“Veterinary staff and municipal council health staff must take their responsibility seriously and check every pig that is ready to be slaughtered,” the association said in a statement yesterday.

“At the same time, if the pig slaughter workers in the slaughterhouse find a sick pig, immediately report it to the doctors and council managers,” it added.

The statement was issued in response to recent reports of the mass death of pigs in Durin.

Additionally, it stressed that the health department of the municipal council must pay close attention to the sources of live pigs in Sibu, such as open-air markets and some pork shops from other places, where their pigs are not slaughtered in the Sibu slaughterhouse.

It also appeals to pork consumers not to buy pork of unknown origin.

Meanwhile, Department of Veterinary Services Sarawak director Dr Adrian Susin Ambud told The Borneo Post that the matter is still under investigation.

On Tuesday, The Borneo Post reported that DVS in Sibu was concerned with the mass deaths of pigs belonging to farmers in Durin.

Revealing this, Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Durin Branch chairman Teo Boon Siew said he had called the department for help and was told that it was already informed of the apparent plague.

Teo, who is also SRDC councillor, said the Veterinary Department officers would visit the farms this week.