The government's decision to cull the country's entire pig population, announced by the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs on April 26, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus - commonly referred to as swine flu - culminated in mass protests in the garbage collectors' neighborhood in Manshiyet Nasser, southeast of Cairo, commonly known as Al Zabbaleen. Following a heated confrontation with security forces, many of the area's pig farmers eventually capitulated and surrendered their stock to be slaughtered before the May 28 deadline to collect compensation from the government.
The government justified the decision to slaughter the country's pigs, estimated to number 300,000-400,000, by saying Egypt suffered from an endemic avian flu and that it feared the novel H1N1 virus would mutate in Egypt through pigs to become transferable human-to-human. The Ministry of Finance announced that LE 31.5 million would be set aside to compensate pig farmers; the government promised LE 100 for each male pig, LE 250 for each pregnant sow, and LE 50 for each pig under five years of age.
The execution process, marred by numerous violations, generated scathing criticism from local and international press as well as animal rights organizations. Bulldozers and cranes were spotted sweeping the pigs and tossing them alive into large trucks, where in some instances they were then sprayed with poisonous substances or drowned in plaster.
"In some cases, the slaughter took place inside the trucks," said a garbage collector and pig farmer from the neighborhood who wished to remain anonymous, and who eventually surrendered his stock of over 1,000 pigs for slaughter. "Someone hits the pigs with a sharp instrument on their heads. After the killing, they are transported to a larger truck that takes them to the mass graves."
The Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have both campaigned against the methods of mass pig execution in Egypt. Both organizations stated that the Egyptian government's decision was not justified since no direct relationship between the spread of the disease and raising pigs was proven.
The OIE said it was "inappropriate" to cull pigs as a precaution against the new flu virus and that countries should instead focus their efforts on "increasing surveillance and strengthening bio-security." The WSPA is currently leading an international campaign, joined by more than 28,000 people from over 120 countries, protesting what the organization described as "the cruel and inhumane" treatment of pigs in Egypt.
"The method of eliminating the pigs in Egypt was excessive. The decision taken was premature, it hindered product activity, and will lead to a lot of unemployment," says Siyada Greis, chairperson of the Association for Protecting the Environment (APE), noting that "this breed of Egyptian pigs has been around since the time of the ancient Egyptians. We fear that the government's actions will lead to the extinction of this breed. What we are trying to do now is to preserve the breed."
Greis says that the APE has asked the government to help preserve the breed and to halt the execution of remaining pigs, but that these efforts have been in vain. Government agencies slaughtered more than 10,000 pigs owned by the APE in private farms outside Cairo in Qatamiya, according to Greis. "The farm was far from residential areas and there was no justification for eliminating it. But we failed to convince the officials," she said.
Pressed for a response at an OIE meeting in Paris, Hamed Samaha, head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, explained that the decision taken by the government followed a request from parliament. He said that pig semen and fetuses would be preserved so that the breed of pigs would not be lost when pig farming is resumed. Samaha also stated that he plans to establish a new system for raising pigs that relies on modern technology, a bio-safety system and veterinary care, and that technical assistance was requested from the OIE for that purpose.
Though there are many garbage collectors' areas in Cairo, including those in Ezbet Al Nakhl, 15th of May City and Barageel, pig farming is concentrated in Al Zabbaleen, notably in a district that has become known as Al Zarayib - in reference to the pig pens.
Considered one of Cairo's largest slums, Al Zarayib is home to around 57,000 people. And while commercial crafts are prevalent, most residents work in garbage collection and recycling, and pig farming was one of their most important sources of income. Garbage collectors sort through the garbage they bring to the area, separating plastic, glass, paper and organic waste, which is used as feed for the pigs. The pens vary in size, ranging from those housing a mere 50 pigs to others where the number exceeds 1,000.
"Whatever remains after sorting that cannot be used does not exceed 10 percent, but after the elimination of pigs the percentage will rise to more than 50 percent. The garbage will now become a burden on us and will cost us extra money to transport to public dumps," says the garbage collector.
The garbage collectors view pig farming as a source for savings. "We rely on selling the solid waste that we extract from the garbage, such as plastic, paper and glass, to cover our living expenses. As for selling the pigs, that represents our savings. We use it to build homes, prepare our daughters for marriage, and save with banks," explains the garbage collector.
The sows in Al Zarayib give birth almost every three months and their litters range between seven and 15 pigs. Fattening a pig takes less than six months, which is the average for how often farmers sell them. The price of a pig ranges between LE 800 and LE 1,000, and the market price for a kilogram of pork is around LE 17.
There are at least four plants that manufacture pork in Egypt, but the industry now faces a serious recession. "There is a recession in the market because consumers are no longer interested in buying pork," says Milad Youssef who co-owns the Ramsis Company for Processed Meat, which manufactures and sells pork, who notes that most domestic production of pork, around 80 percent, is consumed by the local market. He estimates the recent drop in his company's sales at about 90 percent, noting that his stored meat will expire within six months at most.
"There is uncertainty about the pork market. No one knows if pig farming will resume after this crisis, and, if it does, whether it will be by insemination of the same breed or whether new breeds will be brought," says Youssef.
Meanwhile, garbage collectors who raise pigs will not be able to continue farming in the same manner if the government allows pig farming to resume. There exists a government plan, as yet unimplemented, to move garbage collectors and pig farmers outside Manshiyet Nasser.
The new location has not yet been decided upon, says a spokesperson from the General Authority for Urban Planning (GAUP) who asked to remain anonymous. The spokesperson explained that a location approximately 15 kilometers from 15th of May City had been previously selected, but that after the city was expanded the site was only 7 kilometers from the city's urban center, an insufficient distance that constitutes a health hazard the authority hopes to avoid. The spokesperson also identified another site on Kureimat Road that is yet to be determined as suitable for pig farming.
The preliminary concept for the new space will also include homes for the pig farmers that are separated from the pens in which they will raise their pigs, according to the GAUP spokesperson, who noted that the new farms will be planned in accordance with safety criteria set by the Ministry of Environment, which will include new feeding systems for raising pigs. Those working in the field will be transferred to the new location and compensated for their current homes.
The relocation proposal has been met with anger and resentment by the pig farmers of Zarayib. "We moved from the Betro district to Ezbet Al Ward in Abu Wafia in Shobra, and then to Imbaba. It was not difficult every time we moved because we lived in rooms made out of tin sheets, but now we have built houses and started businesses. How can they simply take hold of a house I've built over the years when it is all I own?" asks 60-year-old garbage collector Girgis Tadros.
In addition to expressing their anger at the decision to eliminate the pig population, many garbage collectors have adamantly rejected the notion of relocating, claiming that the government had harbored the intention of moving the pigs outside the residential area since 2006, and that the swine flu scare gave the authorities the perfect excuse to eliminate them entirely. The pig farmers' fate, and that of their livelihoods, however, still hangs in the balance.
© Business Monthly 2009
