COREPIG

Prevention of selected diseases and parasites in organic pig herds – by means of a HACCP based management and surveillance programme

A tool to prevent diseases and parasites in organic pig herds

The health of the pigs varies a lot between different organic pig herds. This is likely to be caused by the different management routines implemented in the herd. Since the use of antibiotics and antiparasitic drugs is undesirable in organic pig production, the main focus is on prevention of diseases and parasites. It is therefore important to acquire knowledge of the correlation between management routines and disease occurrence in organic pig production and convert this knowledge into a management tool that the individual farmer can use to improve livestock health on farm.

The overall objective of the project is to promote animal health and welfare in organic pig herds in Europe. This will be achieved by carrying out the following three components:

To conduct an international knowledge synthesis for establishing future needs for research into disease and parasite prevention in organic pig production

• To estimate risk factors for selected diseases and parasites in pigs in European organic herds
• To develop and evaluate a management and surveillance system for organic pig herds based on a so-called HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) concept.

Project co-ordinator:

Scientist Marianne Bonde
University of Aarhus
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
Department of Animal Health Welfare and Nutrition
Blichers Allé 20; P.O. Box 50
DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark

Tel.: +45 89 99 13 47; Fax: +45 89 99 15 25
E-mail: Marianne.Bonde@agrsci.dk