The government of Dongguan in southern China's Guangdong Province announced on Tuesday that it would completely ban pig husbandry within the city from January 1, 2009, in a bid to eradicate pig waste pollution that contaminates the city's water supply. This move has sparked a great deal of public debate. The following are excerpts from media comments.

China Youth Daily: Pig husbandry does have some negative impact on the city's image. We totally support the government's efforts to cut the pollution resulting from pig waste. But it's not convincing enough if the government completely bans pig husbandry for the reason that pigs are regarded as the main source of pollution. A circular aimed at boosting pig raising released by the State Council stipulates clearly that "cities should establish large-scale piggeries in suburbs and maintain a necessary amount of pigs in stock and the ratio of self-supplied pork. No region should ban or limit pig husbandry for the reason of constructing a new countryside or treating pollution".

On the surface, the city's environment can be improved if the pig husbandry is completely banned. But what we worry about is whether people in Dongguan will be able to eat relatively cheap pork if they have to depend entirely on supplies from elsewhere. We still need to take note of the fact that the supply of edible oil remains short and the cost of raising pigs is still on the rise. The municipal government of Dongguan will be guilty of making arbitrary policy decisions if, amid the rush to prohibit pig husbandry, it is unable to properly arrange pork supplies, one of the most basic issues related to local residents' well being.

This year's hard fact is that the pork price keeps rising, which has led to complaints from many quarters of society. Pork supply problems can only be eased if measures are taken to ensure the pork supply both by the central government and local governments. How can Dongguan municipal government guarantee that pork remains on local people's dining tables if it completely bans pig raising under the pretext of environment protection?

In fact, the pollution caused by pigs is much less than that caused by large-scale factories. It's a fact that Dongguan has lots of factories and migrant workers. As a city with manufacturing at its core, Dongguan has every reason to develop its economy. Pig husbandry undoubtedly contributes little to the city's GDP. But we should not forget that the objective of economic development is not simply the boosting of such indices, but to improve the well being of the public. The authorities in Dongguan should not regard pig husbandry as an extra burden.

Guangzhou Daily: As the authorities said, Dongguan currently has 750,000 pigs on local farms, which have become a major source of pollution for the city. Waste from these 750,000 pigs almost equals that of the city's 4.5 million residents. This waste results in around 132 tons of polluted water every day, which mostly enters the city's water system untreated. It's easy for the proposed ban on pig husbandry to trigger public debate, so we should look at this issue from different perspectives.

First, we should take note of the fact that in many southern cities, crop-raising farmers are becoming fewer and fewer and more chemical fertilizers are used than organic fertilizers. Therefore, how to handle pig waste has become a problem.

Secondly, according to local officials, Dongguan trade and agriculture agencies have selected 51 pig farms outside the city to supply 4 million pigs annually, in order to satisfy the city's demand for pork. To meet any contingency, the government plans to increase the number of pig suppliers outside the city in order to double the annual supply by the end of this year. Since this number of pigs can be guaranteed, it's acceptable for Dongguan to scrap pig husbandry in the city.

In fact, Dongguan made this decision based on its own conditions. Dongguan is a city with manufacturing as its primary industry. The major characteristic of this city is that it has a great number of plants and migrant workers, meaning that agriculture is no longer the mainstay of the local economy. Banning pig farming not only serves to save land, it will also make it easier to cut pollution. And it's also conducive to supporting the development of pig husbandry in other regions. This practice is in accordance with the division of labor and comparative advantages between different regions. In conclusion, it brings more benefits than harm, so we need not worry about it.