The number of dead pigs found in rivers supplying water to Shanghai has risen rapidly to more than 16,000. While authorities have said that tests indicate the city's water is safe, officials have given no explanation on the dumping of carcasses. Some tests have indicated that some of the animals may have had porcine circovirus, a disease affecting pigs but not humans. The government in Shanghai said that 10,570 carcasses had been pulled from the Huangpu river, while 5,528 have been found in upstream tributaries in the Jiaxing area of Zhejiang province. Hog farmers said that the sudden dumping is due to a police crackdown on the sale of illicit pork made from diseased pig carcasses, while a lack of proper facilities to dispose of them encouraged the dumping. A state-controlled newspaper said that three men were sentenced to life in prison after buying 77,000 dead pigs over a period of two years. According to the BBC, the incident has highlighted China's difficulties with food safety, as pork is one of the country's most popular meats. For the full story, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/22/dead-pigs-chinese-river-rises and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21861987.