The pig industry’s views on the proposed mandatory control and eradication programme for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) are being analysed, after a 12-week consultation, which ended in May.
It is central to the next phase of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway for pigs in England, which has been developed by Defra in close collaboration with pig producers, vets and industry organisations.
If the consultation responses support the proposals, it will be a huge opportunity for the industry to get on top of PRRS – one that may not come round again, if not, according to Pathway Liaison Group chair Stewart Houston.
“PRRS is a key disease, not just because of its direct impact, but because it also increases susceptibility to other diseases. We all need to work together,” he said.
“It’s important not to penalise those producers who are struggling to get rid of PRRS because they are close to other affected units. If the plans go ahead, we will need to get all pig sector organisations together to discuss how to take plans forward, including NPA, PVS and Red Tractor.”
The proposals include a requirement for standardised diagnostic testing and for herds to declare their PRRS status, while the currently Defra-funded annual vet visits would also become mandatory.
PRRS control programme
The proposed PRRS control programme would be introduced gradually in five phases over a 12-year period. Defra hopes that, by the end of phase 5, PRRS would be successfully under control – taking the industry closer to the longer-term aim of PRRS eradication.
- Phase 1 is designed to establish a baseline antibody status in sows for England.
- Phase 2 moves onto virus testing and sequencing piglets and weaners for the majority of pig farms.
- ln phase 3, holdings testing positive for virus would need to start implementing additional control measures, with some restrictions on movements coming into effect.
- Phase 4 would tighten some of these controls, alongside additional measures to stop large pig farms setting up new units or moving existing units close to ‘established units’.
- Phase 5 would further tighten some of these measures, including requiring units to have sows and boars testing negative ahead of breeding.
Defra said the proposals are designed to ‘protect the investments made in the voluntary phase and ensure that farms are working to the same minimum standards’. Stewart said the pig sector group had felt that legislation would be needed to get all producers signed up.
Take advantage
With the funded phase coming to an end in summer 2027, he encouraged producers to take advantage of the opportunity while money is still available. This would also stand them in good stead if the consultation comes out in support of introducing the proposed legislation.
Currently, pig farmers can apply for Defra funding (£648) for visits by vets, who will review disease risks and biosecurity, carry out PRRS testing and discuss medicine use and improvements with producers. Farmers can also apply for £1,087 for an endemic disease follow-up that builds on the review.
Under the new proposals, farmers would need to arrange and pay for a visit from their vet to carry out an annual review.
While farmers would start to shoulder more of the financial burden, Stewart said any extra costs farmers incur would ‘pale into insignificance against the cost of dealing with a PRRS outbreak’.
“If we’re going to produce clean pigs and clean herds, we have to be able to stop reinfection from dirty herds. That means we’ve got to collaborate and work proactively,” he said.