Respiratory disease is a major welfare and production problem in commercial pig farming. Prevention through biosecurity, vaccination, and ventilation management significantly reduces the welfare burden.
Respiratory disease in pigs represents a significant and often underappreciated welfare burden. Subclinical disease - where pigs are infected and showing reduced performance but not dramatically ill - is particularly insidious because it causes chronic low-grade welfare impairment without triggering intervention. Pigs with developing pneumonia experience respiratory discomfort, reduced appetite, reduced activity, and immune suppression that increases disease susceptibility further. Prevention is dramatically more effective than treatment: ventilation management that maintains good air quality (low ammonia, appropriate temperature and humidity) is the single most impactful intervention available to indoor pig farmers. The ventilation investment case is both welfare and economic - healthy pigs convert feed more efficiently.