Public concerns of the people in Shanghai are on a rise after thousands of dead pigs were found floating in its main waterway. Since Thursday, dozens of bloating dead pigs have been found in the upper Songjiang section of the Huangpu River. By Sunday, more than 1,200 pig carcasses have been retrieved. The pig carcasses count had risen to a bizarre number of 3,000 as of yesterday.
Despite pledges on water safety by Shanghai authorities, questions are now being raised over possible contamination of drinking water as the Huangpu River is a major source of drinking water for the city. Shanghai authorities have since repeatedly stressed that the drinking water in the Songjiang area has not been affected and still meets safety standards. On top of that, it is also being closely monitored, with immediate measure ready to be taken if any emergency is found.
Then the next concern would be the possible cause behind the sudden deaths of so many pigs in one place, since the Shanghai Agriculture Committee said that no reports of animal epidemic outbreaks have been received in the city. Where were they from? Did they drink the water from the river and die from something in the water? Were they thrown away? If so, why were they thrown away?
Shanghai authorities are investigating the matter, with high suspicions that the pigs were dumped by farms upriver.
UPDATE:
Shanghai authorities have announced that as of yesterday, the number of dead pigs collected from Huangpu River has increased to 5,916. However, many corpses remain in the river. On Tuesday morning, 20 dead pigs were collected within 10 minutes, most of which had already started to decompose.
Sources: BBC, AsiaOne, China.org.cn.
