• Restaurants allowed to sell disease-free meat
• 1/2 of the pigs in WP dead, most in Gampaha 

The Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH) has announced steps to issue a new Gazette notification, relaxing some of the restrictions imposed earlier due to the African swine fever outbreak.

The Department Director General Dr. Hemali Kothalawala stated that permission has now been granted for the transportation of healthy animals. “Based on the current situation in the field, there has been a slight decrease in the spread of the disease this week, and it’s essential to protect the industry,” Dr. Kothalawala explained. 

“We have relaxed certain restrictions and issued a new Gazette, which will be effective from Monday (4) until further notice. Previously, animal transportation was prohibited, but, under the new Gazette, non-infected animals may now be transported, provided that they have an animal health report from a veterinarian,” she said.

“These animals can be slaughtered in slaughterhouses registered with the Provincial office of the DAPH. An authorised officer will certify and grant this registration,” she further said. The new Gazette also mandates that slaughterhouses and meat refrigeration facilities must be registered. Meat processing and the sale of prepared meat from non-infected animals are now permitted, allowing restaurants to sell meat from animals confirmed to be free of the disease.

Meanwhile, the Western Province (WP) DAPH reported that around 50% of the pigs in the WP have died due to African swine fever. Its Director, K.K. Sarath noted that the Gampaha District recorded the highest number of pig deaths.