Five months into the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants and stores are cautiously reopening with added rules and procedures – masks, distancing measures, contact tracing apps. While this degree of disinfection is a new normal for humans, it’s business as usual in the hyper-clean world of pig farmers. As we seek to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 in our workplaces and neighborhoods, perhaps we need to take a page out of the pig’s book.
Pig breeders are no strangers to avoiding outbreaks. It makes commercial sense – the best products come from the healthiest animals. In fact, past experiences developing a vaccine for a porcine coronavirus are helping researchers treat COVID-19. But the most successful method yet of keeping pigs healthy relies on an extreme form of “social distancing.”
Back in 1971, driven by a desire to reduce the use of antibiotics in meat and increase animal welfare, Denmark introduced breeds of germ-free pigs (known as Specific Pathogen Free or SPF). By making sure that pigs start out free from common diseases, SPF pig herds can stay infection-free through careful tracing and handling procedures.
Just like how contactless deliveries make takeaway orders safer, SPF pigs also require specific transport procedures to stay healthy. Swiss company Move Your Brand specializes in creating the unique vehicles needed to minimize the risk of infection in transit. Used by the largest transporters of pigs in the world, they contain everything needed for a comfortable journey from point A to B – enough space, fresh water and feed to comply with strict Danish and EU recommendations on animal welfare. Even the air inside the trailer is purified by UV light to keep the environment sterile and the temperature can be controlled to suit weather conditions. Such great lengths keep tens of millions of pigs germ-free every year.
Faced with COVID-19, society as a whole is slowly catching up to the idea that strict planning and a holistic approach are needed to stop the spread of disease. Just like with pigs, a single broken link in the chain of biosecurity creates a vulnerability to infection. To combat this, drivers of pig trailers are educated in how to wear Tyvek suits and prevent contamination. Strict EU regulations require logging when pigs are moved between farms and breeders in order to stop any possible infection in its tracks.
So, what can pig farmers and transporters teach other industries? Calming wary consumers requires more than sloganeering and declarations of victory. Businesses must prepare for the long haul by keeping a tight watch over their onward supply chain. For pigs, that means tailor-made trailers. Such bespoke solutions may seem extravagant, but they are a small cost when your name and brand is on the line. For consumers, staying healthy now means thinking not only about their own exposure, but what’s in the products they consume and how they arrive. In looking to how we adapt planes, offices, and public spaces, we’d be wise to take a lesson from the pigs of Denmark.
