Swine flu paranoia strikes Cairo, Egypt.
and
Slaughtering has already started
Yes there are pigs in Egypt. Many of them. They are usually raised by the Christian garbage recyclers. They are used to turn garbage into protein.
The meat is available in some stores, butchers and restaurants. It isn’t the best pork I have ever had, but it is tolerable. Except the bacon. The bacon, from at least one store, tastes like fishmeal wrapped in saran wrap.
Anyway…
It is unclear to me whether or not the meat will be destroyed or just butchered and sold as it normally is.
I doubt with the paranoia about this that the meat will be sold. Especially since the government has closed at least one pig butchery in Alexandria.
It will be interesting to see if all the pigs are butchered and if this overwhelmingly Muslim state will allow pigs back into Egypt or if this will be used as an excuse to ban the animals.
Edit: May 2nd. Yesterday, we went to our favorite pizza place, Maison Thomas. It is own and operated by Coptic Christians and normally sells pork products, both as groceries (ie: a rack of pork chops, sliced ham etc) and on pizza. We were told “No pork products.”
I was unable to determine if this was a voluntary withdrawal of their pork offerings or if they were ordered to do so, or if they were just unable to obtain pork.
I find it hard to believe that pork is no longer available due to the slaughter.