690,000 Livestock Dead in Heatwave... Song Mireyong: "All Available Resources Mobilized to Prevent Damages"

As the heatwave and drought in southern regions persist, the number of heat illness cases continues to rise and approximately 690,000 livestock have died, resulting in significant damages. The government is mobilizing all relevant agencies and organizations to minimize the impact of the heatwave.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on August 6, as of 8 a.m. that day, 688,894 livestock deaths had been reported due to the heatwave. By type, there were 39,995 pigs and 648,854 poultry among the losses.

A Ministry official stated, "The heatwave is more severe than last year, and we believe the damage could increase further," but added, "Poultry deaths due to the heatwave account for only about 0.4% compared to July's slaughter volume last year, so the impact on livestock product supply is minimal."

The Ministry is implementing measures to minimize damage to livestock farms and maintain stability in the supply of livestock products amid the prolonged heatwave. In cooperation with local governments, agricultural cooperatives, and the livestock industry stabilization fund, the Ministry is providing heat stress relief supplies, offering mobile watering support, conducting nationwide emergency inspections by livestock and quarantine department heads, and dispatching regional officers for on-site inspections. The Ministry has also set up a dedicated heatwave response situation room in the livestock sector to manage the response daily and quickly identify and address on-site difficulties to ensure timely support as needed.

Additionally, to relieve the burden on consumers, the Ministry is pushing to stabilize and expand the supply of chicken by lowering the delivery price to large supermarkets by more than 1,000 won and by completing the importation of broiler hatching eggs.

On this day, Minister Song Mireyong of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs visited a cooling shelter operated by the Gapyeong County Agricultural Cooperative in Gyeonggi Province to inspect heat illness prevention measures for local farmers and foreign migrant workers and distributed cooling items and heatwave response guides. At the site, Minister Song asked farmers employing foreign workers to pay special attention to preventing human rights violations and heat-related injuries among their employees. She also instructed the foreign workers to follow safety guidelines for heat illness prevention, such as drinking water frequently and resting in the shade.

Minister Song said, "As the heatwave continues, all available resources will be mobilized through inter-agency cooperation to prevent heat illness among agricultural workers and foreign laborers and protect crops, livestock, and against drought damages. I urge everyone to strengthen rural surveillance, expand inspections, and carry out active field campaigns through inter-agency cooperation to minimize heat illness and agricultural and livestock product damage, and to implement proactive drought measures to keep losses in the agricultural sector to a minimum."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.