By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) said yesterday the repopulation of pigs in the province is expected to start next year.

This comes after continued zero hog mortalities were observed in the past few weeks.

PVO head, Dr. Placeda Lemana said Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has already signed a memorandum outlining the guidelines for the “new normal” in the hog industry.

The memorandum marks a significant step toward revitalizing the local hog sector.

Lemana said, prior to the hog sentineling program, local hog raisers had been busy cleaning and disinfecting their farms.

They will soon be allowed to introduce a vaccinated sentinel pig into their facilities.

If the sentinel pig remains healthy for 40 days, they can proceed with the repopulation.

As part of its monitoring, the PVO will continue to conduct swab tests and getting water samples to make sure that the hog diseases are already gone.

Lemana also emphasized the importance of vaccinating livestock to prevent the recurrence of various swine diseases that caused over P200 million in losses.

Earlier this year, Negros Occidental’s hog production took a hit due to hog cholera and African swine fever./DGB, WDJ