THE Quezon City government has given over 200 owners until August 31 to demolish their backyard piggeries and poultries or face penalties.
Mayor Maria Josefina “Joy” Belmonte said the owners of these backyard piggeries and poultries should not have been engaged in this kind of livelihood in the first place because of an ordinance banning it.
The city clamped down on backyard raisers following the resurgence of the African swine fever (ASF) in some areas in the country, particularly in the provinces of Quezon and Batangas.
“As a highly urbanized center, piggery and livestock are prohibited in the city, that’s why we have an ordinance for it,” Mayor Belmonte said.
According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of pigs which generally results in high mortality in its acute form.
Before the August 31 deadline, Belmonte urged the owners to voluntarily surrender their pigs immediately.
She told The Manila Times that financial assistance would be provided to owners in exchange for these pigs, which will be turned over to the DA.
“But penalties would be imposed on those who would not comply with the directive by the end of this month,” she warned.
Once the pigs are determined to be ASF-free, they will be turned over to DA to be sold in Kadiwa Stores.
If contaminated, the swine would be culled and buried, the mayor said.
Despite zero cases of ASF in the city, the local government has established at least four checkpoints in strategic areas to bar entry of infected livestock shipments.
Belmonte said they have already been coordinating with the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to ensure that the ASF would not spread in the city.
According to the City Veterinary Department (CVD), the livestock and poultry checkpoints were located in Pearl Drive in Commonwealth Avenue, Kaingin Road in Balintawak, Mindanao Avenue-Tandang Sora Avenue and Paang Bundok in N.S. Amoranto.
Both CVD and BAI personnel would check and validate that all livestock shipments passing through and entering the city have the necessary documents to ensure they are ASF-free.
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