Farm Animals

Farmed Pig Coughing and Respiratory Welfare

Coughing in pig herds is a sentinel welfare indicator for respiratory disease, and systematic monitoring allows earlier intervention.

Key Facts

Enzootic pneumonia causes a dry cough in affected pigs detectable by trained observers
Cough scoring systems record prevalence of coughing as a flock-level indicator
Pleuritis found at slaughter provides retrospective evidence of respiratory disease
Antibiotic treatment reduces cough frequency but does not address root causes
Vaccination, ventilation, and biosecurity together prevent respiratory disease

Welfare Considerations

Herd-level cough scoring allows welfare assessment of respiratory health across an entire pig building. Elevated cough scores indicate inadequate prevention of a disease causing chronic discomfort. Using slaughterhouse pathology data to identify farms with high respiratory disease rates creates accountability for respiratory welfare at farm level.

What You Can Do

Support welfare auditing using cough scoring as a herd health indicator
Advocate for slaughterhouse feedback data to be used in farm welfare assessment
Choose pork from farms with documented respiratory health monitoring