Nearly 6,000 dead pigs in Chinese river
A pig farm said it dumped more than 6,000 bloated pig carcasses found flowing through a river in the center of China's largest city, CNN reported.
The farm in Jiaxing City claimed responsibility for the dead pigs in the Huangpu River, which were pulled out this week, according to Chinese state-run media.
The river is a major source of the city's water supply, raising concerns about its quality.
The labels in the ears of the pigs indicated the city as their birthplace, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state-run news agency. The city is south of Shanghai, in the Zhejiang Province.
Earlier, local Chinese media had suggested the dead pigs had come from the area with local officials blaming dumping on "local pig farmers who lack awareness of laws and regulations."
The city's government said a total of 70,000 pigs died from "crude raising techniques and extreme weather" at the beginning of the year, according to Xinhua. But it also insisted that the collected corpses were disposed safely.
The selling of diseased pigs appears to be a bigger problem in the area as on Wednesday, a court in Zhejiang Province, issued prison sentences for 46 people convicted of selling meat from diseased pigs, Xinhua said.
The sentences ranged from six months to 6 and a half years in prison, the report said.