2,800 pigs dumped in Shanghai river raises concern

Beijing: A recent surge in the dumping of dead pigs upstream from Shanghai with more than 2,800 carcasses floating into city through today has followed a police campaign to curb the illicit trade in sick pig parts.

The effort to keep infected pork off dinner tables may be fueling new health fears, as Shanghai residents fret over the possibility of contamination to the city`s water supply, though authorities there say no contamination has been detected. Authorities have been pulling out the swollen and rotting pigs, some with their internal organs visible, since Friday. Shanghai officials said on Monday that the number of dumped adult and piglet carcasses retrieved had reached 2,813. The city government, citing monitoring authorities, said the drinking water quality has not been affected. PTI