More cleansing center against animal diseases opened in Thai North

CHIANG RAI, THAILAND, July 10 (TNA) - The Department of Livestock Development, under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has opened another cleansing and disinfecting center against animal diseases in the Thai North. The department's director-general, Dr. Sorawit Thaneeto, presided over a ceremony on July 9 to open the new border center in Chiang Saen area of the northern Chiang Rai Province, the 5th of its kind so far. Dr. Sorawit told journalists that such the center's main mission is to have trucks or other vehicles used to transport livestocks cleansed and disinfected from animal diseases, including the African Swine Fever (ASF) which has been spread in neighboring countries. Dr. Sorawit stated that his department, in cooperation with the Swine Raisers Association of Thailand and provincial authorities, has opened cleansing and disinfecting centers against animal diseases in five border provinces, namely Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan Provinces in the Thai Northeast, as well as Sa Kaeo Province in the Thai East and Chiang Rai Province in the Thai North. The senior official acknowledged his department has a key mission on taking care of animal health and livestock products to ensure that their quality meets the official standard, covering their disease-free conditions and safety for consumers, and their supply meets the market demand, while also creating income and business opportunities to local farmers and livestock farms. (TNA)