Pig Keeper Guidance

• You are considered to be a pig keeper if you keep a pig or ‘micropig’ (a pig bred to be small so it can be more easily kept as a pet) and must follow the same regulations as pig farmers.  Defra provide advice on keeping a pig or micropig, including biosecurity such as registration and identification.

 

Livestock Associations & Societies

• National Pig Association
• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

 

Professional Veterinary Associations

• The Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) is a specialist division of the British Veterinary Association. They assist members in caring for pigs, they share knowledge on health, disease, pig welfare and management.

 

Record Keeping Guidance

• The Scottish Government provide guidance on Livestock ID and Traceability for pigs, including details of holding registers, identification and movement requirements
• ScotEID works closely with the Scottish livestock sector & Scottish Government to design, develop and deliver solutions to ensure robust traceability

 

Assurance Schemes

• Quality Meat Scotland (QMS)
• Red Tractor Assurance

 

Antimicrobial Stewardship

• Pig Veterinary Society's Prescribing Principles for Antimicrobials
• Pig Health and Welfare Council Pig Health and Welfare Council Antimicrobial Usage Subgroup  Practical Guide to Responsible Use of Antibiotics on Pig Farms

 

Electronic Medicine Book for Pigs

The electronic Medicine Book for Pigs (e-MB) is a UK-wide service for collection of data on antibiotic usage in the pig sector and optionally the full legal medicine book for pig holdings. Use of this service allows the sector to better demonstrate responsible use of antimicrobials (and other medicines).

 

Further Information

• Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) produce detailed guidance:
  • Practical Biosecurity for Pig Farmers, Smallholders and Pet Pig Keepers in Scotland
• Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre (SPDCC) produce a short video on advice to pig producers regarding African Swine Fever (ASF)
• The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) publish a variety of biosecurity guidance for pig producers, including:
  • Biosecurity for Pig Production
  • Reduce the Risk of African Swine Fever reaching the UK poster is available in English, Polish and Lithuanian language
  • Don’t Bring it Home poster and Don’t Feed the Pigs fence sign for disease control

• National Animal Disease Information System (NADIS) provide advice on biosecurity.

• The Veterinary Epidemiology Unit of the University of Ghent in Belgium have developed Biocheck, a weighted, qualitative way to measure biosecurity, with guidance.  You may wish to explore this guidance with your vet practice
• There is a persistently high level of pleurisy in Scottish pig herds, causing losses and condemnations. The Pleurisy Reduction in Scottish Pigs to Improve Health and Welfare, Reduce Waste and Enhance Supply Chain Value, or PL2020, project by Wholesome Pigs Scotland involved multi-disciplinary co-operation and support by production, processing and research sectors in Scotland to address the problem.