Last Thursday and within the past week, nearly 3,000 dead pigs were found in Shanghi, China’s drinking water resource.

On Monday, it was reported, by Press TV, that at least 2,800 decomposing pigs were found and being taken out of the Huangpu river. That number rose to a little over 3,000 dead carcasses.

According to locals in China, many workers were sent in quickly to help with the situation. The working who were fishing out the pigs were reported to have used long rakes to pull them to shore. By this time, the carcasses “smelled horrible” and were decomposing; turning pink to grey.

Investigators believe that the animal carcasses most likely came from Zhejiang, which is a province upstream. From there, there were reports that the farmers would drop the pigs into the river when they died from diseases.

This incident sparked many concerns on the way China is maintaining food safety and environmental pollution.

When residents of Shanghai started questioning about the drinkability of the water, one stated (on Press TV) that “The government has a responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation and provide safe water to residents.”

According to Shanghai’s water bureau, he quote, “diseased” pig carcasses were said to have a common swine disease that would not affect humans. Local’s who tested the water hourly stated that the pigs have not yet contaminated the river.

On another note, the pigs were reportedly moved out as quickly as possible to reduce any risks of harming Shanghai China’s 23 million people.