15 Experiences with Swine Depopulation

Abstract

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis situation for US swine producers. Unexpected and prolonged closure of numerous harvest facilities created a backlog of market ready pigs. The “just in time” nature of our industry proved fragile under these circumstances and numerous farms needed to rapidly depopulate swine of various ages. While these experiences were painful, they did create a series of “lessons learned” that can be applied to future depopulation scenarios. Some of the major considerations for depopulation methods include the facility location, procedures to perform the depopulation and disposal of the depopulated carcasses. With many pig farms being home to thousands of animals, the need to perform depopulation in a high-speed and highly effective manner is an absolute requirement. Guiding principles for depopulation have been developed by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and these guidelines serve as a starting point for understanding what options are available to producers facing depopulation as well as which option may be most practical for a specific situation. Common depopulation strategies employed on farm include gas inhalation with carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, electrocution, penetrating or non-penetrating captive bolt and ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+). Each strategy requires unique levels of equipment, skill, technical expertise, labor, time and cost. Common carcass disposal strategies include composting, landfill, rendering and burial. It is impossible to define a specific depopulation and disposal strategy that is optimal for every site however a thorough understanding of the characteristics of each option allows producers to determine the optimal process for their specific situation. Considerations for optimal strategies must incorporate consideration for practicality, speed of depopulation and disposal, animal well-being, human safety and human well-being.