Farm Animal Welfare

Pig African Swine Fever Preparedness Welfare

African Swine Fever poses a catastrophic welfare threat to pig populations globally. Preparedness planning protects against devastating disease welfare impacts.

Key Facts

ASF causes near 100% mortality in domestic pigs without the African resistance mutation
The virus spreads through infected pigs, people, vehicles, and contaminated feed
Strict stamping-out policies involving mass culling are the control response
ASF has spread from Africa through Europe and into Asia over the past decade
No effective vaccine is widely available, making biosecurity critical

Welfare Considerations

ASF outbreaks trigger mass emergency culling of entire pig herds - a welfare event of extraordinary scale. Prevention through biosecurity is the most welfare-positive strategy, avoiding both the disease itself (which causes fever, haemorrhage, and death) and the emergency culling response. Preparedness planning that enables rapid response can limit the scale of both disease and culling welfare impacts.

What You Can Do

Support national ASF preparedness and biosecurity programs
Implement strict swill feeding bans to prevent illegal waste feeding
Report suspected ASF immediately to veterinary authorities
Support research into ASF vaccine development for domestic pig protection