A pig-breeding farm in Hunan province dissolved pig carcasses in sterilizing solvent and discharged the solvent through sewage pipes, raising concerns about environmental damage, local media reported on May 6.

A villager complained to the Sanxiang City Express that the river outside the pig-breeding farm, located in Wangcheng district in the capital city of Changsha, smelled bad after every rain.

An undercover investigation by the paper found that dead pigs were thrown in dozens of pits on the farm. The carcasses were dissolved with a strong alkaline solution in the pits, which was then discharged to the nearby Maqiao river, villagers told the paper.

An employee of the Hunan Tianxin Herd Industry, which owns the farm, confirmed the report but insisted that the dissolved-carcass water was decontaminated before it was discharged, according to the report.

Li Yi ,head of the environmental protection bureau of Wangcheng district, said that wastewater from sewage outlets of the farm was unqualified for emitting. He worried that the sewage would affect the water quality of the Maqiao river, which flows to the Xiangjiang river, a main river flowing through the province, according to the report.

The Environmental Protection Bureau and Animal Health Inspection Institute of Wangcheng district are currently investigating, according to the report.

Contact the writer at wuni@chinadaily.com.cn