THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Wayanad district administration has already started culling pigs at a farm at Kattimoola, near Tavinhalm, in the district where two cases of African swine fever have been confirmed.

So far more than 190 pigs have been culled in two pig farms after African swine flu was reported in the district. The district administration on Monday pointed out that culling will carry on, but there is no need to be panicked as things are under control.

The culling of pigs commenced after the test reports from the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, where the samples were sent to confirm the disease, came positive for African swine flu.

As the pigs at the two farms in the Mananthavady area of Wayanad tested positive, all the animals on one farm died due to it.  Mananthavady Sub Collector Sreelakshmi, who is coordinating the culling exercise, has informed the farmers that adequate compensation would be released at the earliest. She has informed that culling was being undertaken in line with the national protocol to prevent the spread of the disease to other areas or farms.

2 to 10-km areas would be declared surveillance zones and animals in the areas would be checked. Compensation would be given to owners of the culled animals as per Centre's guidelines and the expenses would be borne by the Central and State governments equally.

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