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Last update - 18:46 29/04/2009
Egypt orders slaughter of all pigs over swine flu
By The Associated Press
Tags: Egypt, pigs, Israel news 

Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no cases have been reported here yet, the Health Ministry said.

The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers. At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers who came to slaughter the animals and the workers left without carrying out the government order.

It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country's slaughterhouses, Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
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Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population.

Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman estimated there were between 300,000-350,000 pigs in Egypt.

Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told reporters that farmers would be allowed to sell the pork meat so there would be no need for compensation.

In 2008, following fears over diseases spread by animals, Mubarak ordered all pig and chicken farms moved out of population areas. But the order was never implemented.

Pigs can be found in many places around Muslim world, often raised by religious minorities who can eat pork. But they are banned entirely in some Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.

In Jordan, the government decided Wednesday to shut down the country's five pig farms, involving 800 animals, for violating public health safety regulations.

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      1.   Lips that eat swine will never touch mine ! 23:21  |  Akiva P 29/04/09
      2.   Pigs in Egypt? 23:52  |  Jeff 29/04/09
      3.   wow 00:30  |  observer 30/04/09
      4.   This is insanely cruel and unnecessary... 00:59  |  Dutch 30/04/09
      5.   slaughtered pigs 06:03  |  Kool 30/04/09
      6.   This is pigheaded and insanely cruel... 09:11  |  Dutch 30/04/09
      7.   That`s easy, 11:32  |  nina 30/04/09
      8.   it is not about pigs 14:32  |  steve 30/04/09
      9.   EGYPT & pig-slaughter 16:13  |  The Teacher/Instruct 30/04/09
      10.   Egypt has one pig 16:40  |  Sammy from Jordan 30/04/09
      11.   Pigs killed over the flu permitted to be eaten! Makes sense? 17:36  |  Alicia 30/04/09
      12.   Re #7, Egypt ... 17:37  |  Henk 30/04/09
      13.   PIGGIES of the world unite(!) against this genocide! 17:47  |  Piggy-power rocks 30/04/09
      14.   pigs in egypt 18:32  |  abbas daneshvari 30/04/09
      15.   "this is insanely cruel and unnecessary"-Dutch 18:49  |  nina 30/04/09
      16.   Pigs in Israel 19:29  |  Michael Kavodi 30/04/09
      17.   It is religious bigotry 20:00  |  Ahmose The Egyptian 30/04/09
      18.   To #17 20:20  |  Alex 30/04/09
      19.   no 17 ist right 22:36  |  rick 30/04/09
      20.   Pigs in Egypt ? 03:26  |  mark23 01/05/09
      21.   Pigs in Egypt 11:10  |  ahoovah 01/05/09
      22.   Blunt stupidity or fundamentalist movement? 13:08  |  UlfT 01/05/09
      23.   No more stories, no more 3 little pigs. 14:46  |  Stephen. 01/05/09
      24.   if only 18:12  |  TK 02/05/09
      25.   why do many Jews eat pork? 18:35  |  KMS 02/05/09
      26.   Three Little Piggy`s 20:34  |  D-Holz 04/05/09
      27.   Pig Slaughters! 01:39  |  Junior 08/05/09
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