A study of preslaughter pig handling and stunning in selected South African Highveld Region abattoirs.

The study hypothesis was that pre-slaughter handling is not conducted in such a way that pigs can be considered humanely slaughtered, nor is it conducive to promoting those properties of fresh meat that could enhance pork quality. The 1st phase of the investigation was aimed at confirming the present compliance level within the prescribed norms. To this end the importance of stunning induction requirements for effective electrical stunning, the welfare implications relating to the pre-slaughter handling of pigs and the stunning and sticking techniques were investigated. Pre-slaughter welfare of the pigs at the abattoir was found to be influenced at the outset by the origin and type of pig slaughtered, the daily throughput range of pigs and the type of abattoir involved. A disappointing pre-arrival aspect was that deficiencies in road motor vehicles were observed while off-loading pigs. Through poor design or lack of maintenance, another factor that hampered free movement of pigs was the off-loading facilities. The nature of animal behaviour in the pens, in the passages and when going into the stunning area was directly related to the pig handling efficiency and to the nature and extent of design and maintenance problems with equipment. None of the abattoirs had a well designed in-feed to a well planned stunning area/facility, and a very high level of pig pre-slaughter stress prevailed. The optimum position of the electrodes is virtually impossible to attain under practical conditions and the practice of repeat application of electrical stunning is common. Of the total sample size (n = 1175), 34% were difficult to shackle, 90% of these being from the abattoirs tending to slaughter more routinely a wide range of different sized pigs. In this survey 149 pigs (13%) required more than a single sticking attempt to bleed out properly, considerably higher than in other published reports.

The first isolations of Campylobacter mucosalis from pigs in South Africa.

The first isolations of Campylobacter mucosalis in South Africa are described. Isolations were made from a 6-week-old weaner pig with necrotic enteritis and from 2 gingival swabs of suckling piglets from herds with histories of porcine intestinal adenomatosis. The isolates were serologically identified as being serotype A strains.

Some husbandry factors influencing weaning stresses in piglets.

The post-weaning diarrhoea syndrome (PWDS) in piglets is multi-factorial in origin. Numerous managemental, environmental, housing, nutritional, immunological and physiological factors are discussed, being primary factors in the cause of the PWDS. Infectious agents especially Escherichia coli are often incriminated as causes of PWDS but are more likely to be opportunistic elements due to faulty management of stressed animals.

A report of swine erysipelas in a litter of piglets.

Out of a litter of 7 two-week old Landrace piglets, 6 developed cutaneous haemorrhages especially on the limbs and ears. Two of these piglets died within 24 hours of the haemorrhages appearing whilst the other 4 recovered following penicillin therapy. The histopathological lesions were centred around the smaller vessels of the dermis and hypodermis. These included hyperaemia, leukostasis and intravascular fibrin coagulation or thrombosis. Bacterial emboli were present within the vessels of the skin, spleen, liver and kidney and loose in the areolar tissue of the dermis and hypodermis. Other lesions included scattered but extensive dermal and hypodermal haemorrhages and a mild cellular infiltration of the dermis and hypodermis.

Three case studies involving Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona infection in mixed farming units.

Three case studies involving Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona outbreaks within mixed farming systems in South Africa are described. On 2 farms, pigs constituted the main enterprise with cattle and sheep of secondary importance. On each of these 2 farms, abortion due to L. pomona in sows was confirmed by culture, and antibody titres to pomona were detected in cattle, sheep, horses and dogs. On the 3rd farm, a piggery was of secondary importance to cattle farming. Abortion and death in cows occurred on this farm and serology showed titres to various serovars, including pomona. L. pomona was also isolated from bovine urine, an aborted bovine foetus and kidneys from slaughtered pigs. This particular case study was regarded as clinically atypical in that adult Jersey cattle died of acute leptospirosis in a semiarid region of South Africa. In all 3 case studies, the poor management of pig effluent and of the drinking water and its sources played a pivotal role in the transmission of the disease. Inadequate vaccination of animals against Leptospira and poor record-keeping within the secondary farming enterprises were also contributing factors to the spread of leptospirosis.

Cost implications of African swine fever in smallholder farrow-to-finish units: economic benefits of disease prevention through biosecurity.

African swine fever remains the greatest limitation to the development of the pig industry in Africa, and parts of Asia and Europe. It is especially important in West and Central African countries where the disease has become endemic. Biosecurity is the implementation of a set of measures that reduce the risk of infection through segregation, cleaning and disinfection. Using a 122-sow piggery unit, a financial model and costing were used to estimate the economic benefits of effective biosecurity against African swine fever. The outcomes suggest that pig production is a profitable venture that can generate a profit of approximately US$109,637.40 per annum and that an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has the potential to cause losses of up to US$910,836.70 in a single year. The implementation of biosecurity and its effective monitoring can prevent losses owing to ASF and is calculated to give a benefit-cost ratio of 29. A full implementation of biosecurity will result in a 9.70% reduction in total annual profit, but is justified in view of the substantial costs incurred in the event of an ASF outbreak. Biosecurity implementation is robust and capable of withstanding changes in input costs including moderate feed price increases, higher management costs and marginal reductions in total outputs. It is concluded that biosecurity is a key to successful pig production in an endemic situation.