Animal Health - Advice for Owners of Pet Pigs and Micro Pigs

8/10/2019 Animal Health - Advice for Owners of Pet Pigs and Micro Pigs

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ADVICE AND GUIDANCE

ADVICE FOR OWNERS OF PET

PIGS AND MICRO PIGSGeneral guidance for keeping your pig


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Keeping pigs or micro pigs animals specially bred to besmaller in adulthood than mostother pig species - as pets or

as a hobby can be extremelyrewarding. However, whileowners may regard their pig asa much loved pet, they remainfarmed animals in the eyes ofthe law and subject to the samedisease controls and regulationsas pigs kept in commercial

livestock herds.

These regulations have beenput in place because all pigs aresusceptible to a number of highlycontagious viruses - such asswine fever and foot and mouth- which could have a devastating

effect on the UKs agriculturalindustry if allowed to spreadunchecked. These viruses are

known as notifiable diseasesbecause of the legal requirementfor pig owners to notify theauthorities if their animals are

suspected of carrying them.

To prevent hobby keepers andowners of pet pigs or micropigs from unwittingly helpingto spread notifiable diseases,Animal Health has developed acomprehensive guide explaining

the rules and requirementsinvolved in pig ownership.

The following guidance covers awide variety of aspects, includingrequirements for moving,registering and identifying pigs,and outlines what owners need

to do to keep their animals fit,healthy and legally compliant.


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MOVING PET PIGS TOTHEIR NEW HOME

Before moving pigs from theirplace of purchase to newaccommodation, you will needa County Parish Holding (CPH)number.

The CPH number is a nine-digit code which identifies the

premises or area of land whereyour animals will eventually bekept important information inthe event of a notifiable diseaseoutbreak.

To apply for a CPH number youwill need to contact the Rural

Payments Agency. Furtherdetails of how to do this can befound here.

When you have your CPHnumber, the person or companyyou are buying your pigs from(known as the departing

address) is responsible forproviding you with an animalmovement document known asan AML2.

The departing address mustcomplete sections A andC of this form, keeping theyellow copy for their records.The person responsible fortransporting the pigs from

the departing address to yourpremises will need to completesection B with their details and

retain the blue copy.

Once these sections of thedocument have been completedyour pigs will be free to move- provided the transportercomplies with the conditionsof Defras general licence for

moving pigs (a copy of theseconditions is available fromDefras website).

Once your pigs have arrived atyour premises you will needto complete section D of theAML2 form with your details.

Within three days of your pigsarriving you must send the whitecopy of the AML2 to your LocalAuthority, retaining the pinkcopy of the form for your recordsfor at least six months.

To move a pig off your premises,

you will need to contact yourLocal Authority for blank AML2forms.

Pigs bought from a market willneed an Individual MovementLicence, which will be issued atthe market by a Local Authority

officer. This licence will serveas the appropriate movementdocument.


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ONCE THE PIGS ARE ONYOUR PREMISES

Once your pigs have arrived attheir new home, your premiseswill be subject to standstillrules. These rules mean that anypigs or other livestock animalsalready on your premises, willnot be allowed to move off theaddress for a set period of time.

Standstill rules help to guardagainst the rapid spread ofnotifiable diseases, by providingan incubation period duringwhich diseases can be detectedand identified.

Standstill rules apply different

time restrictions on differentspecies of livestock animal.For example, pigs arriving atyour premises will trigger a20 day standstill on other pigsalready living there, whereasresident cattle, sheep andgoats will only need a six day

standstill. Similarly, cattle,sheep and goats moving ontoyour premises will impose asix day standstill on any pig youown.

For more information onlivestock movements contactyour local Animal Health office,or Local Authority.

REGISTERING YOURPIGS

Whether you have one pet pigor a thousand animals in acommercial herd, you will needto register them with AnimalHealth as soon as they arriveat their new home. In the eventof an outbreak of a notifiabledisease, registration is vital

to effective disease controlbecause it allows the authoritiesto precisely locate all livestockanimals within a given area.

Pig keepers who fail to registertheir animals within one monthof their arrival are not only

breaking the law, they arealso putting their animals andall other livestock kept in thevicinity at risk of infection.

To register your pet pig, you willneed to phone your local AnimalHealth office and provide staff

with your County Parish Holding(CPH) number.

Once you have informed AnimalHealth that you are keeping pigs,they will register the animals foryou. This may be done over thephone or you may be required toput the information in writing.


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(NOTE: If your correspondence address is different from the locationwhere your pigs will be kept, you must inform Animal Health andconfirm they have the correct details.)

When your pigs are registered, a herd mark will be automaticallycreated. The herd mark is a unique code which provides a quick andeffective means for inspectors to identify premises from which pigshave moved.

Once you have registered your animals, your local Animal Health officewill send you a registration document.

RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS

All pig owners, from those keeping pet pigs to commercial pigfarmers, are required to keep records of the animals moving on oroff their premises. This information, known as a holding movement

record, can be kept in written or electronic form.

FIG 1: GLOUCESTER OLD SPOT PIGS


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The holding movement recordshould be in the followingformat:

The name and address of theperson keeping the record;

The date of movement;

The Identification number ortemporary mark;

The number of pigs moved;

The address of the holding fromwhich they were moved;

The address of the holding towhich they were moved;

You are obliged to record eachmovement of a pig on or offyour premises within 36 hoursof the movement taking place,and once a year you will need torecord the maximum number ofpigs you normally keep.

These records must be availablefor inspection by your LocalAuthority, which can visit yourpremises to review your recordsor ask for them to be sent forinspection. Even after you stopkeeping pigs, holding records

must be kept for a period of sixyears after the date that the lastanimal left your premises.

IDENTIFYING YOUR PETPIG

The herd mark that will be givento you by Animal Health whenyou first register your pigs,will need to be applied to youranimals before they are allowedto move off your premises. Thiscan be done in a number of ways- by an ear tag, a herd mark

(also known as a tattoo) or atemporary mark (also knownas a slap mark) - dependingon the age of the pigs and theirintended destination.

Ear tag An ear tag must be stamped or

printed, not hand written;

It must comprise of the lettersUK followed by your herd mark.For example: UK AB1234;

Tags used for animals destinedfor slaughter can be metal orplastic, however, they mustbe able to withstand carcassprocessing;

Tags used for movementsbetween holdings can be plastic.

Tattoo

A permanent ink markcomprising your herd mark(without the UK prefix) appliedto the front of each of the pigsshoulders;


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Legible for the life of the pig andthroughout the processing of itscarcass.

Temporary Mark Paint mark on the pig. For

example, a red line, black crossor blue circle;

The mark must last until the pigreaches its destination;

Combined with the movementdocument, the temporary markidentifies the holding from whichthe pig has been moved.

Pigs under 12 months old needtemporary marks to move

between premises, and an eartag or herd mark if they aremoving to market or slaughter.Pigs over 12 months old canmove between premises, to anytype of market, and to slaughteronly, with your herd mark or eartag.

All of the equipment requiredfor making ear tags, tattoosand temporary marks can bepurchased from agriculturalsuppliers.

PET PIG WALKINGLICENCES

Taking your pet pig for a walk isa good way to keep the animal fitand healthy. However, becausethe activity has the potential tospread notifiable diseases, pigowners in England and Walesare legally obliged to obtain apig walking licence from their

local Animal Health officebefore taking their animal out.Pig owners in Scotland are notallowed to walk their pigs.

To apply for a licence you willneed to submit a proposedwalking route for assessment by

one of our Veterinary Officers.If they believe your route risksspreading disease - for example,due to the proximity of alivestock market,high health status pig farmor fast food outlets - yourapplication will be rejected and

you will be asked to provide anamended or alternative route.

If your application is approved,you will be issued with a licencethat will need to be renewedannually.


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ADVICE ON FEEDINGYOUR PET PIG

Contaminated waste food canspread viruses and bacteria tolivestock, and pigs can quicklyinfect other animals wheninfected with a disease like footand mouth.

The first case of the 2001 foot

and mouth disease outbreakwas found at a farm whereunprocessed waste foodwas being fed to pigs. Thesubsequent review of theoutbreak led to legislationbanning the feeding of cateringwaste to any farmed animals, or

any other ruminant animal, pigor poultry. This is now reflectedin EU-wide legislation.

As a pig owner you need toknow that it is illegal to feedyour animal with waste food andscraps from your own kitchen or

dinner table. It is also illegal tofeed pigs with waste food fromrestaurants, kitchens, and othercatering facilities - even if thoseestablishments cater solely forvegetarians. In addition, currentlegislation imposes strictcontrols banning the feeding ofother materials of animal origin,or products containing them, tofarmed animals.

There are a small numberof exceptions to this, and the

following materials may be fedto pigs:

Liquid milk or colostrum (a typeof milk used to rear very younganimals) may be fed to pigs,provided the food originatedfrom the same holding as that

on which the pigs are kept;

Former foodstuffs (other thancatering waste food fromkitchens, catering facilities etc)containing rennet, melted fat,milk or eggs, but where thesematerials are not the main

ingredient;

Restricted proteins such asfishmeal, (animal derived)di-calcium or tri-calciumphosphate, or blood products ifsuitably processed;

Milk, milk products and white

water sourced from registeredpremises, or as formerfoodstuffs from retail outlets.These products must not enterthe kitchen or they becomecatering waste;

Egg and egg products, but

only if treated in accordancewith Animal By-Products(ABP) regulations. This would


9/12FIG 2: FEEDING HUMAN FOODSTUFFS TO PIGS IS POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL AND MAY CAUSE DISEASE


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mean sourcing from an ABPprocessing plant or a foodfactory. It does not allow for

pigs to be fed with raw egg oregg products from chickenson the pig owners premises,eggs or egg products fromdomestic kitchens, or eggs oregg products from retail storesor supermarkets.

Anyone in England and Walesobtaining waste milk, milkproducts or white water to feedto their pigs would need to beregistered with Animal Healthfor this purpose - althoughin the case of milk products,this would only be necessary if

the food contained more than80% milk. Details of how toregister, and more informationon the feeding of milk and milkproducts, are available fromyour local Animal Health officeand the Defra website.It is permissible to source

certain types of formerfoodstuffs, as well as fruit andvegetables, from non-cateringpremises for feeding to pigs.However, this must only befrom premises that either donot handle materials bannedfrom being fed to pigs, or that

have procedures in place toensure complete separationfrom prohibited materials (these

procedures must have beenagreed with the Local Authority).

If you are uncertain about whatcan and cannot be fed to yourpigs please contact your localAnimal Health office for furtheradvice.


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FURTHER INFORMATION:

If you would like more information on keeping pigs, you could visit:

www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth

www.businesslink.gov.uk/farming

www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/pigs/


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HEAD OFFICE:Animal Health Corporate Centre, Block C, Government Buildings,

Whittington Rd, Worcester, WR5 2LQt+44(0)1905 767111, f+1905 764352, ecorporate.centre @animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk

ANIMAL HEALTH IS AN EXECUTIVE AGENCY OF THE DEPARTMENT FORENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS AND ALSO WORKS ON BEHALF OF THE

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE, WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT / LLYWODRAETH CYNULLIADCYMRU AND THE FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY

www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth

Animal Health - Advice for Owners of Pet Pigs and Micro Pigs

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