By the Editor
People of North East (NE) India, especially tribals, are very fond of meat, chief among which is that of pig that is pork. In some Pacific islands like Papua New Guinea pigs are status symbol meaning that the more number of pigs a person has the greater is his or her status. Pigs are very useful animals because different parts of pig’s body serve humans for various purposes. Skin is used for high-quality leather, bristles for brushes, dung and urine for manure, fat for lard and meat for human consumption. Pigs are good converters of feed which imply that amount of profit derived from meat is much more than amount of food they consume. Female pigs can give birth to between 8 to 12 young litters at a time and that too up to twice or even thrice a year. Survival of young piglets depend much on care and attention. Female pigs are ready to conceive and bear litters by the time they reach 8-11 months of age. Gestation period is about 114 days that is slightly less than four months. Pig sheds should be kept clean and free of diseases or germs so that litters can breathe properly and grow quicker. They depend on mother’s milk for about 45-60 days beyond which they are to be weaned and fed solid food. Once they rely solely on solid diet then it is better to be kept separate from their mother.
Pigs are easy preys to diseases just like human beings. Once any symptom of cold and fever is detected care should be immediately taken before it becomes endemic and spreads to humans. Domesticated pigs may suffer from various stomach ailments like diarrhoea and dysentery. Most common ill affecting pigs is worm and so de-worming medicines are to be regularly administered once every three months. Skin diseases due to lice are also common which should be treated before spreading further. However, once swine flu occurs then people should totally stop eating pork. Vegetables and left-overs from household can be fed to pigs but for better growth pig feeds are available. According to estimate, Meghalaya consumes pork worth about Rs 630 crore annually and 50 per cent of demand is imported from other states valued at more than Rs 350 crore.
On September 1 the office of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (AH & Veterinary) department, Meghalaya under National Livestock Mission (NLM) distributed piglets to more than a hundred families from Jirang assembly constituency falling under Umling Community & Rural Development (C&RD) Block through Rural Backward Piggery Scheme. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who was also chief guest during the function, distributed three cross-bred Hampshire females and one male to each of the more than hundred beneficiaries as part of PROGRESS (Prosperity of Grassroot Families Through Livestock Intervention Schemes). The state government has reached out to different farmers, producer groups and families under PROGRESS which also includes agriculture and horticulture department interventions.