Thousands of pigs are being culled on the Japanese island of Okinawa after an outbreak of classical swine fever, also known as hog cholera according to a report by Stars and Stripes.
The contagious and deadly disease was confirmed after a farmer reported pig deaths due to an unknown respiratory ailment.
The disease has since been discovered in two additional farms, affecting approximately 5,000 pigs.
The disease has no health risk to humans but is extremely transmissible among swine. Farmers within six miles of the original outbreak have been ordered not to transport pigs or boars and to sterilize their farms.