Health service for pigs launched in UK regions

A health service for pigs aimed to chart the health of all pig herds and reduce common pig illnesses, is being launched in Yorkshire and Humberside.

 

The new health service, which has yet to be officially named, may eventually be rolled out across all England.

 

It is being introduced in Yorkshire and Humberside as pig producers in this area have a reputation for being go-ahead and working well together.

 

The project is being funded by the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the British Pig Executive (BPEX), which is funded from levies paid by English pig-keepers.

 

BPEX chairman Stewart Houston said that having persuaded some of the country's largest retailers to stop importing fresh pork, they now have a responsibility to ensure there are sufficient supplies of high-welfare British pork for them to sell.

 

Houston estimated that they could produce another 1.5 millions pigs a year in England without even expanding the sow herd, simply by working together to suppress or even eliminate some of the common pig diseases.

 

North Yorkshire pig producer Richard Lister has been appointed the chairman to oversee the project.