Amidst the recent controversies surrounding allegations against C.P. Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company for selling sick pigs into the market, Mr. Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, issued a dispatch to provinces and cities. The dispatch calls for intensified surprise inspections of animal slaughterhouses, immediate cessation of operations of violating establishments, and strict handling of cases involving the slaughter and consumption of sick or dead pigs.