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Shanghai river pigs: A report on Friday said at least 8,354 dead pigs were dumped into a Shanghai river.
Villagers gather dead pigs in a town in Jiaxing municipality, east China's Zhejiang province on March 13, 2013. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
The number of dead pigs found in a river in Shanghai has risen to 8,354, it was reported.
On Friday, workers pulled more than 800 pigs out of a river used for drinking water in Shanghai, reported The Associated Press.
The dead pigs are believed to have come from a farm in Jiaxing, located in Zhejiang Province. State-run media reported that at least one farmer admitted to dumping the pigs in the river, and he is currently under investigation.
“They say there are more pigs than humans in our village,” a man named Ye, who raises pigs in Jiaxing, told NPR. “Some families have more than 1,000 pigs. But not many pigs died recently, no, really not.”
The South China Morning Post reported that Zhejiang villagers the pigs were dumped into the river because state-run disposal areas were full.
Gu Jinlin, a villager who collects dead pigs from farms, said the dead pigs had been sold on the black market to illegal dealers before a crackdown.
“On the black market, a dead pig could sell for several dozen yuan,” Gu told the paper. “They were made into stuff like meat sauce. Last year some dealers were arrested.”
But it was reported Friday that authorities blocked off most of the underground, black-market channels in which dead pigs are disposed.
Local farmers claimed the pigs likely died during an epidemic of porcine circovirus, saying the situation was “totally out of control,” according to the Xinmin Evening News.
Another farmer said that the pigs pushed via underground channels were used by butchers, who would serve the meat to the public without their knowledge.
“But only two of them are operating now” after a recent crackdown, the farmer said, referring to the channels.
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