Pig problems

Pig problems

I am writing about the issue of permitting the relocation of a pig husbandry site in West Java (Merdeka, April 12, 16 and 23, 1996). The government should think twice before consenting to the relocation plan. I, a Moslem, respect the decision made by local governments of Bogor, Karawang, Bekasi and Tangerang in categorically rejecting the establishment of pig farms in West Java. I deplore and am disappointed by the West Java deputy governor and Indramayu regent for allowing the establishment of pig farms.

Some 90 percent of the West Java population are Moslems, who are allergic to the mere mention of pigs. I appeal to the would- be investors to remember that their business could insult Moslems.

From a health point of view, the pigs' excrement will damage the environment. The bad smell will spread over the neighborhood and may spread diseases to human beings -- as was the case in Irian Jaya. Hundreds of Irians died of the disease.

I had a bad experience with a disease originating from pigs. When I was assigned in Hanoi, Vietnam, in the 1980s, I was infected and spent 10 days in an Hanoi hospital. The disease was carried by mosquitoes. Many people die of this disease in Hanoi during the dry monsoon.

E. KARTAAMIDJAJA

Bogor, West Java