Farm Animals

Farmed Pig Welfare and Disease Prevention

Disease prevention strategies in pig farming and their role in reducing welfare costs of illness.

Key Facts

Prevention is always preferable to treatment for welfare and economic reasons
Biosecurity measures reduce introduction of new pathogens to pig populations
Vaccination programmes create herd immunity protecting vulnerable individuals
All-in all-out management reduces disease carryover between groups
Health status monitoring identifies emerging disease threats before they escalate

Welfare Considerations

Effective disease prevention significantly reduces the incidence of conditions causing suffering in pigs, delivering welfare benefits at scale across pig populations.

What You Can Do

Support investment in pig biosecurity and disease prevention
Advocate for veterinary involvement requirements in pig health planning
Encourage knowledge sharing about effective disease prevention between producers