Azerbaijan, Baku, 9 February /corr. Trend E.Guliyev / The residents of Nij village of Azerbaijan's district of Gabala are dissatisfied with the decision of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Agriculture to annihilate pigs in a massive scale due to outbreak of the African plague, the Chief Veterinary of the village, Semik Balasamov, said.
"Today, mass annihilation of the pigs commenced in the village [Nij] to prevent the spread the virus of African plague. Local residents demand the Ministry to provide compensation because the key source of profit is pig-breeding," he said.
According to Balasamov, 3,500 pigs will be annihilated in the next ten days. More than 250 pigs have been sterilized in Nij village. Generally 4,600 pigs are being kept in the village.
The appearance of the African plague in Azerbaijan's district of Gabala is under strong control, said Azerbaijan's Minister of Agriculture, Ismat Abbasov.
The State Veterinanry Service of Azerbaijan announced quarantine in Nij village (Gabala) on 28 January after discovering African plague among pigs. It is the first evidence of the African plague in the territory of Azerbaijan.
In 2007 the virus was discovered in Georgia and Armenia. The ban still remains in force for the import of pigs from Georgia due to outbreak of the African plague in that country. Due to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan does not have any economic relations with Armenia.
Pig- breeding farms also exist in Azerbaijan's district of Zakatala, Sheki, Balaken, Ganja and around Baku.