If a foreign animal disease (FAD) is diagnosed in the U.S. swine herd, the industry will make tough decisions quickly in an effort to keep the disease from spreading. That was the overlying theme of a session at the recent 2022 World Pork Expo, and if you happen to be in an area where the disease is identified, chances are you won’t like some of those decisions. Still, they are necessary.
Russ Nugent, PhD, owner of Dogwood Ag Services, LLC, from Lowell, Ark., moderated the session and started by telling producers, “The more information we have, the better the decision-making process: The best ideas come from all of us working together.” Nugent serves as treasurer of the National Pork Board and is a director on the board of the Swine Health Information Center.
“The whole key is to get back to normal as quickly as possible to produce food for the country and the world,” he said. Producers need to understand the process, including having emergency plans in place, understanding the signs and symptoms of FADs, knowing how to use the AgView traceability platform, and initiating a rapid response if needed.
Key Differences
“Depopulation is not the same as euthanasia – there are differences,” said Stephanie Wisdom, Director of Animal Welfare for the National Pork Board. It is on a different timeline to keep the disease from spreading.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) describes depopulation as: “The rapid and efficient destruction of a complete population of animals in response to urgent circumstances with as much consideration given to the welfare of the animals as practical.”
In 2021, the National Pork Board was doing quick-turnaround depopulation research to get information into the hands of producers as quickly as possible, Wisdom said.
Depopulation methods include foam (nitrogen-filled and water-based), carbon monoxide (ventilation), gunshot, penetrating captive bolt, sodium nitrite and electrocution.
“As you’re thinking about your options and what’s going to be included in your depopulation plan, consider animal welfare – you’ll need to think through each option as it relates to your own operation,” Wisdom said.
“We’re working with AVMA to make sure [that organization] has the information it needs [on specific depopulation methods] to consider it, support it and have it recognized,” she said.
In addition, research efforts are ongoing.
“We’ve seen increased collaboration and partnerships through all of the research and we work with producers from across the U.S. in all different kinds of production systems to determine the research they want us to focus on,” Wisdom said.
The National Pork Board is working on the Swine Depopulation and Disposal Field Guide, which will put all the information into a one-stop-shop guide, Wisdom explained. It’s to be completed in July 2022.
Editor’s Note: A follow-up article will cover disposal options in an FAD outbreak.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
If a Foreign Disease Happened Here
