Feral Swine Commercial Slaughter and Condemnation at Federally Inspected Slaughter Establishments in the United States 2017–2019

Abstract

Feral swine populations in the United States (US) are capable of carrying diseases that threaten the health of the domestic swine industry. Performing routine, near-real time monitoring for an unusual rise in feral swine slaughter condemnation will increase situational awareness and early detection of potential animal health issues, trends, and emerging diseases. In preparation to add feral swine to APHIS weekly monitoring, a descriptive analysis of feral swine slaughter and condemnations was conducted to understand the extent of commercial feral swine slaughter in the US at federally inspected slaughter establishments and to determine which condemnation reasons should be included. There were 17 establishments that slaughtered 242,198 feral swine across seven states from 2017 to 2019. For all 17 establishments combined, feral swine accounted for 63% of slaughtered animals. A total of 23 types of condemnation reasons were noted: Abscess/Pyemia, Arthritis, Contamination, Deads, Emaciation, General Miscellaneous, Icterus, Injuries, Metritis, Miscellaneous Degenerative & Dropsical Condition, Miscellaneous Inflammatory Diseases, Miscellaneous Parasitic Conditions, Moribund, Nephritis/Pyelitis, Non-ambulatory, Pericarditis, Pneumonia, Residue, Sarcoma, Septicemia, Sexual Odor, Toxemia, and Uremia. Exploratory analysis was conducted to determine which condemnation reasons should be included for weekly monitoring. For most condemn reasons, weeks of unusually high condemnations were noted. For example, a period of high pneumonia condemnations occurred from December 2, 2018 through February 3, 2019 with a spike on January 6, 2019 and a spike in dead swine occurred on November 3, 2019. The seasonal impacts on limited quality food resources, seasonal variation in the pathogen(s) causing pneumonia, and harsher weather are suspected to have an impact on the higher condemnation rates of pneumonia and dead swine during the winter months. Based on condemnation frequencies and the likelihood of enabling situational awareness and early detection of feral swine health emerging diseases, the following were selected for weekly monitoring: abscess/pyemia, contamination/peritonitis, deads, emaciation, injuries, miscellaneous parasitic conditions, moribund, pneumonia and septicemia. Detection of notable increases in condemnation reasons strongly suggestive of foreign animal or emerging diseases should contribute valuable evidence toward the overall disease discovery process when the anomalies are both confirmed with follow up investigation and combined with other types of surveillance.

Volume 12, No. 3, 2023

“…The adoption of an integrated hazard control system in meat production remains the cornerstone of achieving effective hazard identification by meat inspectors. Studies concur that the role of primary meat inspection (PMI) should be coupled with capacitating the inspector with training and ensure that slaughter operators are sufficiently skilled with available technology they could implement for the purpose of physical hazards identification during slaughter (Akkina et al 2021). In line with the one health approach, physical hazards, such as protruding sharp bone splinters, must be removed before they possibly hurt slaughter operators and consumers (Paulsen et al 2014).…”

African swine fever at the wildlife-livestock interface: challenges for management and outbreak response within invasive wild pigs in the United States

“…However, only federally inspected facilities typically accept and slaughter live wild pigs in Texas. Akkina et al (57) reported that between January 1, 2017 and January 4, 2020, the six federally inspected facilities in Texas slaughtered 239,338 wild pigs, which represented nearly 99% of all wild pigs slaughtered in the U.S. at federally inspected facilities during that period (57). According to interviewees with direct knowledge, two of the six Texas facilities slaughter and process the vast majority of wild pigs.…”

“…All wild pigs at federally inspected facilities receive an antemortem inspection and a follow-up inspection by a veterinarian for animals labeled "suspect" (57). It is imperative that wild pigs at slaughter facilities are monitored for signs of foreign animal diseases and are part of a comprehensive surveillance program.…”