Ten years ago, Bui Van Thanh was startled when he found two of his adult pigs squealing loudly as they ran themselves into the hard wall of their enclosure several times.

After several plunges, both animals fell dead. Two weeks later, Thanh bought new pigs who soon went crazy and died the same way.

Thanh felt unfortunate, but he had no way of knowing that his case would be the first of many in Dau Hamlet over a ten year span.

Around the same time in the same hamlet, two of Bui Van Hung’s sows and seven hogs tumbled and died for apparently no reason. Then, Hung’s robust male buffalo cried loudly for three hours before it died.

From 1997 to 2001, the family lost 41 pigs, seven dogs and one buffalo, all of whom died similar deaths. Believing that their home had been infiltrated by evil spirits, Hung and his wife went to live with his parents in a nearby village.

Out of 134 households in the hamlet – part of Son Qua Village in Luong Phong Commune – 143 residents have suffered the same bad luck since 1997.

Until last year the majority of buffalos, cows, pigs and dogs raised there died after fits of madness. Farmers could no longer farm without having cattle for plowing.

Over the last 10 years, villagers invited shamans and mediums to protect the hamlet but the animals continued to die at increasing rates.

In 2005, locals asked Bac Giang National Assembly representatives to help them.

On May 13, 2005, the provincial National Assembly delegation sent a letter to the provincial Department of Science and Technology ordering the agency to study the Dau Hamlet situation.

The department director had the Center for Science and Technology Application (CSTA) investigate the case and propose solutions to restore and develop animal husbandry in the hamlet.

In May 2006, the center, together with the Center for Environmental Treatment Technologies (under the Ministry of Defense), and the Central Veterinary Institute, visited Dau Hamlet.

Experts collected samples of soil and water, measured the ionized radiation, and collected samples from dead animals for analysis. In addition, they sterilized all livestock pens.

That same month, the CSTA also provided 12 cows, 24 pigs and 24 dogs to the locals.

These carefully vaccinated animals were then raised under supervision from the center and grew well. The center conducted a second test in September 2006, with six cows, 13 pigs and 15 dogs.

To date, most of the animals raised by the center are healthy, though a number of dogs did die. One dog died of food poisoning and others died of Ecoli and Steptococus virus-es, and the rest died of disentery.

Killers

While tests were carried out at the Dau Hamlet, the CSTA asked Hiep Hoa District police to help tighten the security in the hamlet and requested that everyone keep watch for trespassers.

Once police were involved, the animals stopped dying.

In October last year, the CSTA discovered two heaps of steamed rice left alone in front of two houses.

They collected samples and had them analyzed at the Institute of Crime Science and Techniques (under the Ministry of Police).

The rice, the result shows, contained toxins that could release nitrates in the animals bodies, poisoning them and making them behave wildly.

Talking with Thanh Nien on September 15, Luu Kim Dinh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Luong Phong Commune, said the people’s superstitions about ghosts are baseless because the poisoned rice proved there were criminal activities involved.

Though police have not found the culprits, the case is under investigation and the locals are raising cattle and pigs for the first time in 10 years, thanks to police protection.

The hamlet is profiting amid rising pork prices.

Local authorities say they are awaiting a conclusion to the criminal investigation.

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on THANH NIEN NEWS.com