Faculty hosts swine environment day

Abstract

Every year on 1 March, National Pig Day is celebrated in the USA. In South Africa there is no such holiday but recently the Faculty of Veterinary Science, in conjunction with the SA Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO), hosted a swine environment day. The aim of the day on 27 March was to make farmers aware of regulations relating to the pig farming environment and to inform them of SAPPO’s role in supporting emerging and existing pig farmers. The commercial pig industry in South Africa is relatively small with a few modern piggeries with modern facilities, high feeding costs and excellent genetic material. South Africa also has thousands of subsistence and developing farmers producing pork meat for families and communal use. These developing farmers often deal with rudimentary housing facilities and feed.