An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has resurged in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, officials have said, killing tens of thousands of pigs, according to a report from environmental science news platform Mongabay.
Since July 2020 it is thought that anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of pigs in East Nusa Tenggara have died from ASF. The disease had seemed to have disappeared from the region in late 2020, before returning in 2021.
Carolus Winfridus Keupung, the director of Wahana Tani Mandiri, a local nonprofit that works with farmers and fishers, said the death toll likely to be far higher because many pig farmers have not reported the deaths of their animals to authorities.
“There must be real action to restrict trade,” Mr Keupung told Mongabay. “Pigs are dying everywhere, and the community is suffering great losses.
He added that the government is talking about the ‘Food Estate’, a central government plan to establish large-scale plantations in several provinces, but that ‘people’s food security has been destroyed.’
