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DEFRA (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is the Government department that oversees animal welfare and regulation. DEFRA publishes a welfare code for pigs and it is available free of charge from their website (www.defra.gov.uk). It is your duty to check these regulations and ensure that you comply.
The regulations cover important things that you must provide or do. These include:
Shelter
You must provide shelter from wind, rain and cold weather as well as shade from the sun in hot weather.
Food and water
You must provide fresh water and nutritious food.
Freedom of movement
You must provide sufficient space to allow pigs their normal behaviour and provide company for them, ideally in the form of other pigs.
Registration
You must register and ensure identification of your pigs. This applies to all pig owners, even if they only have one or two as pets.
Movement records
Rules exist to minimise the spread of disease and allow traceability. A record book must be accurately kept and be available for inspection by Government officials.
Notifiable diseases and those which can be passed to humans
You must familiarise yourself with these.
Welfare during transport, at market and at slaughter
Rules also exist to cover these stressful situations and you must familiarise yourself with them. If an animal needs to be slaughtered and cannot be transported without causing unnecessary suffering, it must be slaughtered humanely on the premises. Your vet can give further advice.
Sale
If you intend to sell food for public consumption you must first contact your local Environmental Health department.
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