African swine fever alert: Assam rolls out strict SOP, bans night-time pig transport

Guwahati, June 16: The Assam government has implemented a strict Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to regulate the movement of live pigs within and through the state in response to the ongoing threat of African Swine Fever (ASF).

Issued by the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department on Monday, the SOP lays out stringent documentation requirements, health screenings, hygiene protocols, and transport restrictions aimed at protecting Assam’s pig population and broader livestock economy.

As per the SOP, all consignments of live pigs must be accompanied by essential documents, including a purchase invoice, GST challan, E-way bill, and a health certificate confirming the animals are ASF-free, issued by a government-authorised laboratory.

Additionally, each pig must have a veterinary certificate, issued within the previous seven days, verifying identification details, age, vaccination status, and that it originates from an ASF-free area.

Veterinary teams will be deployed at major interstate entry points—Srirampur (Kokrajhar), Boxirhat (Dhubri), Byrnihat (Kamrup Metro), and Amguri (Sivasagar)—to verify documents and conduct physical inspections.

At least 2% of pigs in each consignment will be selected at random for rapid ASF testing. If any test returns positive, the entire consignment will be quarantined and subjected to confirmatory RT-PCR testing.

In case of a positive result, all pigs in the batch will be culled without compensation. The transporter or trader will be held responsible for the cost of testing, quarantine, and disposal.

The SOP also mandates the following:

• Complete ban on night-time pig transport within Assam
• Prohibition on unloading within state borders halts at railway stations, and en-route disposal of animal waste
• Mandatory disinfection of transport vehicles before entering and after exiting the state
• States sending pig consignments to Assam must notify state authorities in advance.

Any violation of the SOP will attract strict legal action under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, the statement said.