Five people detained in China for illegal dumping of 300 tonnes of pig carcasses

“Authorities in China have detained five people as they investigate caches of 300 tonnes of dead pigs uncovered in southern mountains”, the report said.
The employees of the environmental inspectorate in Huzhou in Zhejiang province uncovered the carcasses that were buried in the mountains instead of being burnt as provided by the law on dead diseased animals.
According to the police, the Huzhou Industrial and Medical Waste Treatment Co. buried the dead animals for four years at three sites in the Dayin mountains.
“The pig remains had been an “open secret” for years and locals had long complained about a foul smell near the Dayin mountains, state media said. But the source was only uncovered after an environmental inspector brought in diggers, following a complaint by a resident of the area”,
The company’s former manager Shi Zheng, who is now in jail for unrelated crimes, is suspected of making decisions on illegal burial. There are also five other suspects detained by the Huzhou police.
According to the agency, the agricultural bureau excluded the presence of foot-and-mouth disease and the H7 variant of avian flu in dead animals, eliminating the possibility of infection of people.
It is reported this is not the first time when China, where pork is the staple meat product, runs into such scandals. In 2013, six thousand rotting pig carcasses were found in the river, which tap water was delivered to the commercial hub of Shanghai.