May 28, 2014

Russia culls pigs in Primorsk due to FMD outbreak

Russia is planning on culling more than 10,000 pigs following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Primorsk, one of the country's main pig production regions.

The disease had spread quickly since being confirmed on May 21. More than 4,000 animals in a Primorsk farm showed signs of the disease and more than 2,500 died.

Vice governor, Sergei Sidorenki, said the measure was necessary to contain the disease.

Primorsk is a major pig-producing area in Russia. A plan for a 500,000-head pig production "cluster" was announced earlier this year.