KABUL (AFP) – Afghanistan's only known pig has been taken off display at Kabul Zoo and locked away to avoid panic among visitors who may be worried about swine flu, the zoo's director said Wednesday.
"We put the pig temporarily in his winter house under quarantine because of swine influenza," director Aziz Gul Saqib told AFP.
"Most people don't have much knowledge about swine influenza and seeing a pig, they panic that they will be infected.
"Just to address our visitors' concerns, we have put the pig away from public view for the past two days," he said.
The interned animal -- known simply as "Pig" -- was one of two given to Afghanistan by China in 2002, months after the ouster of the hardline Taliban regime, to help reestablish the zoo after it was destroyed during civil war.
However, the other pig -- and their offspring -- were killed in an attack by a bear.
Despite being the only pig, it was not too lonely, Saqib said.
"The pig made friends with a goat and was happy sticking to the goat in the enclosure, where some other goats and deer were on show for visitors," Saqib said.
No comments:
Post a Comment