Lai Qingde personally watched the pig farm insist on zero detection of clenbuterol

On the 20th, Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te visited the modern pig farm of Yan Zhentou, chairman of the Tainan City Swine Farming Association, and the biogas power generation farm of Guo Hengwu, chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Swine Farming Cooperative, to learn about modern pig farming equipment and pig prices. Mayor Lai Ching-te said that based on the results of the first wave of meat sampling by the city government's Health Bureau and the Bureau of Agriculture's strengthened control over the source of livestock farms, no hormones have been detected in Tainan's pig farms in recent times. All meat inspections in Tainan have passed, and citizens can eat domestic pork with peace of mind.

Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te visited a modern pig farm and a biogas power generation livestock farm on the 20th to learn about modern pig farming equipment and pig prices. (Photo taken from Tainan City Government website)

Mayor Lai Ching-te said that starting from the 14th, pig farms must provide a certification that no ractopamine has been used in the pigs they sell. The city government's health bureau took the lead in setting up an inspection room and has now conducted the first round of random tests for ractopamine. A total of 70 pieces of meat were tested, and all those that tested positive were beef.

The Agriculture Bureau stated that it has also strengthened control at the source of livestock farms, cooperating with the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine to carry out pig hair sampling, blood drawing, meat and feed inspections, and requiring pig farmers to issue a declaration to the meat market that they do not use clenbuterol when selling pigs, and establishing a multi-channel control mechanism.

Mayor Lai is very saddened by the central government's decision to round up pigs to save cows, causing losses to pig farmers. Over the past year, Tainan City's pig farming has passed all the inspections, including feed, blood tests, meat inspections, and even hair inspections. Even the pigs sampled from the Annan and Shanhua meat markets that were prepared for slaughter have all passed the inspections. He urges the Council of Agriculture to activate the 95 production and marketing regulation mechanism, eliminate breeding sows, freeze excess pigs, and stabilize pork prices.

Regarding the H5N2 avian influenza outbreak reported at two chicken farms in Guantian and Shanhua, Mayor Lai said that according to the public clarification by Council of Agriculture Vice Chairman Hu Xinghua in the Legislative Yuan, it is only a suspicion and has not been confirmed that there has been an H5N2 infection, and the city government will continue to monitor this.

Mayor Lai said that once an H5N2 high-pathogen infection is discovered, high-standard disinfection and culling will be implemented, and even chicken farms within a 3-kilometer radius will be subject to the same measures. We call on the Council of Agriculture to disclose information about the epidemic, take responsibility for the losses incurred by farmers, and avoid causing more serious losses.

Tainan City Swine Farming Association Chairman Yan Zhentou pointed out that now that commodity prices have risen, corn has also risen to 10.5 yuan, and the cost of raising pigs for 100 kilograms must be more than 6,500 yuan to cover the cost. However, due to the influence of clenbuterol, domestic pork prices have fallen, and now 100 kilograms has fallen to 4,700 to 4,800 yuan. The loss for every 100 kilograms is 1,000 to 2,000 yuan, which is already difficult to bear.

In order to restore consumer confidence, the Tainan City Swine Farmers Association will hold a health and safety awareness campaign and domestic pork promotion event at the city government's Minzhi Municipal Center starting at 9:30 a.m. on March 23, hoping to stimulate short-term consumption, ease the imbalance between production and sales, and stabilize the wholesale price of pork.