In October 2019, AASV partnered with National Pork Board to bring together a working group of veterinarians, producers, state pork associations, and state and federal animal health officials to identify industry needs related to depopulation of swine in the face of an emergency. At that time, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had just completed their industry-wide Swine Fever Exercise for Agriculture Response and much of the working group’s discussion and industry needs identified were based on assumptions around an African swine fever or other foreign animal disease (FAD) response. Little did we know then how soon the industry would be tested, and not by an FAD outbreak, but by the COVID-19 market disruption.
Fast forward 17 months later and portions of the swine industry have had very real, hands-on experience with stop movement situations and mass depopulation. Many state pork associations partnered with their state animal health officials to initiate programs and provide support to their producers faced with depopulation. Additionally, the National Pork Board invested just over $1 million to fund depopulation experimental research and field trials and the USDA provided support to the industry through their Veterinary Stockpile equipment and cooperative agreement projects for depopulation field trials.
The final step of any emergency response is to debrief with the response team and reflect on what went well and what needs to be improved to be better prepared for the next emergency. During their Fall 2020 meeting, the AASV Pig Welfare Committee discussed how best to capture the first-hand experiences gained by veterinarians and farmers faced with depopulation and improve our resources or build new tools to meet the needs of the AASV membership. A subcommittee was formed to review and update the AASV Recommendations for the Depopulation of Swine to incorporate the results from the research studies and field trials and the first-hand knowledge gained through the COVID-19 market disruption.
To complete this work, the AASV has received funding from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service through their National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP). The 3 project objectives are:
- Conduct interviews with veterinarians, farmers, and animal health officials who have depopulated swine to gather and compile experiential, field trial, and research data on setup, implementation, and efficacy of swine depopulation methods.
- Building from the AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals and using information gathered from Objective 1, develop detailed swine-specific recommendations for practical on-farm implementation of depopulation methods.
- Develop supplemental education resources, including depopulation method decision making tools, equipment lists, recordkeeping forms, and team debriefing tools, to assist swine veterinarians and farmers before and after the depopulation event occurs.
This project is 1 of 46 NADPRP funded projects aimed to individually and collectively address critical livestock biosecurity and large-scale depopulation and carcass disposal concerns across all regions of the United States.
Interviews to systematically gather information from the swine industry’s recent experience with depopulation will occur in March and April. The subcommittee will then use this information to revise and update the swine-specific recommendations and develop the supplemental education resources. If you are asked to participate in an interview, I encourage you to share your experiences and help improve our industry preparedness and response for the next emergency, whatever that may be.
Sherrie Webb, MSc
Director of Swine Welfare