Animal Welfare

Infomation on the health and welfare of pigs.

The health and welfare of pigs is probably more dependent on the farmer's ability to properly manage the system, rather than on the specific type of housing system itself.

Good stockmanship is therefore vital in achieving the good health and welfare of the herd.

Efficient farming methods are dependent on high levels of health and welfare and farmers are constantly striving to maintain conditions that will maximise pig comfort and minimise the risk of poor health. The New Zealand pig industry can be proud that it has an extremely high health status compared with overseas countries. This can in part be attributed to its geographical isolation.

New Zealand as a nation has a proud record in regard to animal welfare including its current legislation, the Animal Welfare Act 1999. This Act establishes the fundamental obligations relating to the care of animals. The Act also allows for the issue of codes of welfare which set out minimum standards and recommendations relating to all aspects of care for a particular species.