AFRICAN PLAGUE TO RAISE PORK PRICE?
Panorama.am
20:51 28/08/2007
A telephone call from Russia to the Armenian agriculture ministry
claimed that the African plague is officially in Armenia, especially
infecting pigs.
Panorama.am was informed about this by Gagik Tovmasyan, who heads
the animal health division of the ministry. We remind that samples
have been sent to laboratories in Russia and England to find out if
the African plague is actually present in Armenia.
Tovmasyan stated that the main regions where pigs thrive, Lori and
Tavush, have set up police checks to make sure the possibly-infected
meat doesn’t leave those regions. "If we see a sick animal, we don’t
hesitate, we kill it," he said. Not only do they kill the animal,
Tovmasyan stressed, they bury it. They also bury any animals which
had contact with the sick pig, as the virus is contagious.
Due to this activity, over 100 pigs are buried every day. A list is
made and given to farmers, who may later receive compensation in the
case of taxes.
Tovmasyan didn’t think the price of pork in Yerevan would increase as
a result of the infection. "On the other hand," he said, "the price
of pork should go down."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
