Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • September 2025
    • August 2025
    • 2025 Maximising Pig Health supplement
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. September 2025
    2. August 2025
    3. 2025 Maximising Pig Health supplement
    4. July 2025
    5. June 2025
    6. 2025 Innovation supplement
    7. May 2025
    8. April 2025
    9. March 2025
    10. 2025 Buildings supplement
    11. February 2025
    12. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    13. January 2025
    14. December 2024
    15. November 2024
    16. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    17. October 2024
    18. September 2024
    19. August 2024
    20. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    21. July 2024
    22. June 2024
    23. 2024 Innovation supplement
    24. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    25. May 2024
    26. April 2024
    27. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    28. March 2024
    29. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    30. February 2024
    31. January 2024
    32. December 2023
    33. November 2023
    34. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    35. October 2023
    36. September 2023
    37. Health Supplement
    Featured

    September 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    September 1, 2025
    Recent

    September 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    September 1, 2025

    August 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    August 1, 2025

    2025 Maximising Pig Health supplement now available

    August 1, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Comment

Vet View: Time to review processes to counter disease threat

Duncan BerkshireBy Duncan BerkshireFebruary 11, 20254 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
Biosecurity sign
© AHDB

Well, if you thought 2025 was going to be a boring year, then think again. At the time of writing, we’re less than three weeks into the new year and already things are coming at us thick and fast.

Welfare, as ever, is going to be a high priority and there are a few things brewing that could be a huge positive for the sector as a whole, or potentially challenge us further.

An enormous amount of effort has now been put into flexible farrowing to make sure we have a clearer path (perhaps not completely agreed yet) towards what should be a significant step up for sow welfare for the indoor pig sector.

Having been working with producers on a variety of flexible and free-farrowing systems for more than 10 years, I truly believe we are at the stage where everyone should be able to access the information and expertise in order to take the plunge.

Let’s hope the legislators have their sensible hats on and use the knowledge that we are willing to share from what has already been completed on the ground before they put final pen to paper.

Supply chain reviews

Talking of legislators, the new government has promised to have the supply chain review on the books by the spring, so we will have to see how this ultimately affects everyone – hopefully, positive results will be seen at all stages of the production chain.

There are continued challenges to us all coming from a wide array of groups with regards to environmental impact (including outdoor production), antibioticusage (with Targets Task Force 3 on its way) and interventions such as tail docking.

The latter has just had some publicity around whether the veterinary profession is illegally signing off producers to continue with tail docking as a completely routine procedure. This was clearly reviewed in the last version of the welfare codes, when it was made clear what needed to be in place, so this should quieten down, as long as everyone keeps their pragmatic hats on.

We will all continue to make efforts towards reducing the incidence of vice in our pigs but, as we know, this takes considerable time and effort to enact. Progress is being made, though, so do make sure it is a priority for discussion with your vet.

Disease challenges

Disease is also providing a large topic for discussion, with both endemic UK challenges and exotic infections hitting the headlines. The discovery of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in January
was a shock and, hopefully, it will have stayed there by the time you read this.

We have borders that are locked down for imports of live animals and meat products, but the market in Europe will take a considerable shake-up, as the flow of meat changes with supply and demand.

We suffer terribly from illegally imported meat coming into the UK because of our higher consumer prices, something that could be exacerbated over the coming
weeks and increase the pressure on those imports.

I truly hope the government is mindful of boosting our border force protection, since this illegal route will almost certainly pose the greatest risk. And that’s on the back of the already higher and continued threat of African swine fever from central and eastern Europe, to add to the risks.

At home, we have background health challenges that are at some of their highest levels for the past 15 years, following some weird weather patterns that have not allowed either a prolonged dry period or freezing temperatures for quite some time (the past couple of weeks being the exception).

There has been a steady build-up of infections, hitting a lot of herds, with viral challenges being particularly high, along with dysentery being reported at increasing frequency through
the labs.

What does this tell us? Well, we need to take a good, hard look at ourselves and our processes, since it is often holes in our setups that allow the spread of these diseases within our borders.

And if the background diseases can spread, then notifiable diseases will certainly be able to move around, if they land on our shores.

Let’s hope we don’t get to the point where we have to test how that would occur, but perhaps it is a timely reminder to review all of the processes on our own farms and businesses so we’re not caught unawares.

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleWestminster grid-locked, as farmers stage Budget protest
Next Article Help shape a new pen-side disease testing device for pigs
Duncan Berkshire

Duncan Berkshire is one of the lead vets within the five-vet pig team at Bishopton Veterinary Group, based in Yorkshire

Read Similar Stories

Vet View: Managing heat stress in pigs

August 6, 2025

Comment: Was the move indoors the right decision for us?

August 4, 2025

Comment: British pork reimagined: Data-led marketing for a changing consumer

July 9, 2025
Latest News

Straw prices for the week ending September 7, 2025

September 3, 2025

Farm assurance debate: An important change driven by the supply chain

September 3, 2025

Farm assurance debate: A commitment to welfare excellence

September 3, 2025
Sponsored Content

Enhancing Weaned Pig Health and Performance with Zinc and Iron

August 1, 2025

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1773 Aberdeenshire

    • Aberdeenshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Senior Pig Stockperson – Ref 1772 Aberdeenshire

    • Aberdeenshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Senior Pig Stockperson – Ref 1771 Australia

    • Queensland, Australia
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.