Mizoram suffered a financial loss of ₹114.64 crore in 2025 due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF), which killed over 9,700 pigs, according to the state’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department.
Deputy Director (Disease Investigation and Epidemiology) Esther Lalzoliani Ralte told PTI that between March and December last year, ASF claimed the lives of 9,711 pigs, while 3,620 others were culled to prevent further spread. The outbreak affected 3,867 families across the state.
ASF was first detected in Mizoram on March 21, 2021, in Lungsen village, Lunglei district, near the Bangladesh border. Since then, the disease has devastated the state’s pig population, killing 72,012 pigs, affecting over 12,500 families, and causing cumulative losses of ₹1,011.27 crore. Of these, 52,979 pigs were culled as a precautionary measure. The most recent pig deaths due to ASF were reported on December 8, 2025.
Ralte said that more than ₹14.51 crore in compensation, from both the Centre and the state government, has been distributed to pig farmers for animals culled up to 2023. A proposal for ₹24.94 crore as compensation for pigs culled in 2024 has been submitted to the Centre, to be shared equally between the Centre and the state. However, no financial aid is provided for pigs that die directly from ASF.
Mizoram recorded the highest pig fatalities in 2021, with 33,417 deaths, followed by 14,950 in 2024 and 12,795 in 2022. The state’s largest financial loss occurred in 2024 at ₹336.4 crore, followed by ₹334.14 crore in 2021 and ₹210.32 crore in 2022.
Ralte noted that ASF outbreaks usually decline during winter but resurge in warmer months. She also recalled that Mizoram had previously faced Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2020, which killed thousands of pigs and caused losses of ₹10.62 crore.
