Number of pigs in Shanghai river rises to 7,545

The Associated Press

Posted: Mar 15, 2013 4:23 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2013 6:35 PM ET

Sanitation workers collect a dead pig from Shanghai's main waterway on March 11, 2013. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

The number of dead pigs found in a river that provides drinking water to China's financial hub of Shanghai has risen to 7,545, after local authorities retrieved 944 more pigs Thursday.

The Shanghai municipal government has repeatedly assured the city's 23 million residents that tap water remains safe. Shanghai locals, however, remain worried about water contamination from the swollen and rotting carcasses in the river, which is a source of drinking water for the metropolis.

The dead pigs are believed to be from hog farms in the upstream Jiaxing area in neighbouring Zhejiang province. A surge in pig dumping has followed police campaigns against the sale of pork products made from diseased pigs.

Chinese state media say one Jiaxing hog farmer has admitted to pig dumping and is under investigation.

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