Telehealth for pigs: the sky is the limit

Pig health and welfare expert Dr Monique Pairis-Garcia sees endless possibilities for technology in the swine barn, telehealth for pigs included.

Safeguarding good animal welfare on pig farms cannot be done without preventing, controlling or reducing the severity and impact of disease both at an individual and herd level. There is a strong relationship between an animal’s health and its welfare. Animals experiencing states of disease have compromised welfare and most often experience poor affective states of pain, lethargy and distress.

Prevention strategies
Optimising animal welfare from a health perspective can be approached either through a prevention or maintenance strategy. Prevention strategies aim to avoid disease altogether and include implementing protocols to both prevent and control the introduction and transmission of disease within a system.