When a pig becomes sick or injured, its treatment should be determined by animal welfare and public health considerations, not by economics.
Depending on the severity of the illness or injury, there are 4 options for treatment of casualty pigs:
- Send for casualty slaughter
- Euthanase humanely on farm
The conditions under which each of these options applies are detailed in this very useful Casualty Pig document, written by the Pig Veterinary Society.
Remember! As well as it being a legal offence to directly cause unnecessary suffering to an animal, so is failing to prevent an animal’s suffering (Animal Welfare Act, 2006).
When pigs require treatment, usually they will need moving to a hospital pen where they can recover in a comfortable setting, under regular staff observation. For tips on best management of hospital pens, download this Action for Productivity sheet 2 or watch the recovery pens clip on the Practical Pig app.