Almost every commercial pig herd in Scotland is now covered by the Scottish Pig Health Charter.
The industry-led charter was launched at the end of 2015 in conjunction with red meat levy body Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).
Every pig herd in Scotland which is a member of the QMS assurance scheme has now signed up to the charter – this equates to more than 30,000 breeding sows and more than 95% of all commercial pig herds in Scotland.
“When signing the charter, pig producers commit to working collaboratively with other producers to control and reduce the spread of disease for the benefit of all British pig producers,” said QMS pig specialist Allan Ward.
He said benefits delivered by the charter included the creation of health profiles of pig units in different areas, along with geographical mapping of the regional distribution of diseases.
In addition the charter will help support a rapid response via the Scottish Pig Disease Control Centre in the case of any outbreak of disease in Scotland.
QMS chairman Jim McLaren said the Scottish pig industry must be congratulated for uniting behind the charter.
Scottish SPCA chief inspection Mike Flynn also praised industry and said the animal welfare charity welcomed any initiative which helped ensure that pig health and welfare were a priority.
