Kohima: The Nagaland government has decided to partially lift the ban imposed on the import of pigs, officials said on Thursday. This comes after the government had banned the import of pigs following confirmed reports of 'African Swine Fever'.
Nagaland imposed the ban on April 28 due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever in neighboring Assam, where many pig deaths were reported. Instances of the disease were earlier reported in the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh. It has also been detected in the state of Meghalaya.
Nagaland Chief secretary Temjen Toy in a notification said that the ban is partially lifted with immediate effect for import of healthy and certified pigs from Punjab and Haryana. However, the ban shall remain in place in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and the other states having cases of African Swine Fever.
Toy in the notification stated that the decision to partially lift the ban was taken keeping in view the economic importance, demand, and ensure food supply.
While announcing the lifting of the ban, the Nagaland government also laid down a Standard Operating Procedure for the pig transporters.
As per the notification, the transit animals should not be disembarked in any place for any purpose within Assam. Moreover, the vehicles should not have any stopover points in the neighbouring state unless it is of utmost necessity, the government's notice further added.
The notification further added that the animal waste or animal carcass is to be thrown out, and the vehicles travelling through areas affected by African Swine Fever are to be disinfected.
The notification further stated that the violation of the SOPs would lead to confiscation of the animals with fines.