Huangpu river water tested as tally of pigs, thought dumped by swine farms upstream in Zhejiang, more than doubles

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Hundreds more dead pigs have been recovered from the Huangpu river in Shanghai following the discovery of more than 2,800 floating carcasses earlier this week.

The find brings the total to more than 6,600 carcasses since last Friday.

The swollen, rotting bodies in the Huangpu are causing anxiety for local residents, but officials said the water supply remained safe.

A surge in the dumping of dead pigs followed police campaigns against the sale of pork products made from diseased pigs.

The carcasses in the Huangpu are believed to come from pig farms upstream in the Jiaxing area of neighbouring Zhejiang province.

On Wednesday, a Zhejiang court sentenced 46 people to jail for producing unsafe pork from sick pigs that they had acquired and slaughtered between 2010 and 2012.

The Xinhua News Agency said police in the city of Wenling had seized 6,218kg (13,708lb) of diseased pork.

In another operation last year, police in Jiaxing broke up a gang that was acquiring and slaughtering diseased pigs. Provincial authorities said police arrested 12 suspects and confiscated nearly 12 tonnes of tainted pork.

On Wednesday, the Shanghai government said the city would continue to monitor water quality and test for viruses, including porcine circovirus, which is reported not to affect people. It said the city had disinfected some carcasses before either burying or incinerating them.