November 18, 2025

Assam, India, bans inter-district movement of live pigs following ASF outbreaks

The government of Assam, India, on November 16 banned the inter-district movement of live pigs in the state and the sale of pork in seven districts.

These came as over 14,000 pigs in Assam, India, were reported to be culled due to African swine fever (ASF).

ASF in Assam was first detected in 2020. An order issued by the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department of Assam said that since then, it has "devastated the piggery industry in the state".

The department said that 297 epicentres of the disease have been reported this year, with 84 new epicentres being notified in the month of October itself.

"The incidences of the ASF have been alarmingly rising across the state with no bound since January 2025, with 297 epicentres reported, spreading to almost all districts in the state with more concentration in seven districts, namely Dhemaji, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Darrang, Jorhat and Dibrugarh, and during the month of October 2025, alone, 84 epicentres were notified in the state," the department stated.

The order also banned the sale of pork in the seven worst-affected districts.

In July this year, in response to a question in Lok Sabha, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying S. P. Singh Baghel had submitted that "during the last five years", 44,596 pigs had died due to the disease and 8,295 pigs had been culled.

- The Indian Express