BEIJING (AP) -- Hundreds more pigs have been found dead in China — this time together with dozens of dogs.
A total of 410 pigs and 122 dogs were discovered in homes and at farms earlier this week in a village that comes under Yanshi city's jurisdiction in central Henan province, authorities said Wednesday.
The city's propaganda office said that the deaths were being investigated but that they suspected they had to do with nearby chemical factories. The factories have been ordered to suspend production and help police with a criminal investigation into the incident, according to a report on a Henan provincial news website.
No poisonous gases have been found in tests on the air around the village and its drinking water has met quality standards, said the report, which the propaganda office confirmed.
Local authorities said the deaths have nothing to do with any epidemic or the H7N9 bird flu virus that has recently spread to humans.
Last month, more than 16,000 dead pigs were found in rivers that supply water to Shanghai. The dumping has not been explained, though police had been cracking down on the illegal sale of pork products made from dead, diseased pigs.
