Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
(Image source: ITN)
BY ZACH TOOMBS
China is no stranger to concerns over pollution. But a major water supply filled with dead
pigs is still quite the environmental low point. As you might expect, the video is fairly
graphic.
Chinese newspaper Xinmin was the first to report more than 2,800 dead pigs have been
found floating in the Huangpu River — the main drinking water supply for Shanghai and
its 20 million inhabitants. (Via ITN)
The Shanghai Agriculture Committee gave an official response Monday, posting to microblogging
site Weibo, it said some of the pigs were infected with a disease called porcine circovirus.
(Via Global Post)
That’s not a disease capable of infecting humans — and Shanghai officials insist the
water there is still safe to drink. Though the BBC’s Martin Patience says that’s
hard to believe, especially given the country’s checkered history on pollution.
“The Chinese have become used to this ... Its waterways are polluted, often chemicals we
see industrial waste, and it raises this concern over drinking water.”
Chinese officials say labels on the pigs suggest they came from the Zhejiang and Jiangshu provinces.
The Jiaxing Daily reports more than 18,000 pigs have died in a single village in the
last two months due to cramped conditions they were kept in. (Via NBC)
No independent water quality measures around Shanghai have been made publicly available,
as of Monday afternoon.