A wipe-out of fish stocks due to pig pollution has received significant attention from state media in China just as a new environmental pollution tax targeting pig farms has started to bite.
TV cameras were out in force recently near the city of Ankang, in the inland province of Shaanxi, to report on the successful prosecution of pig farming company Xing Tian Livestock for allowing slurry escape and damage local fish farms.
The fishermen had been compensated, according to head of the local environment protection bureau, Shen Hai Yan. He pointed out how fish farmers had raised the alarm by phoning a government-run hotline for pollution complaints.
China frequently uses blanket coverage on state media to highlight issues of importance to the political leadership. It remains to be seen if a volume-based pollution tax introduced this year on beef, pig and poultry farms to pay for proper slurry treatment is also extended to aquaculture farms.
