What to feed Pigs

All around Australia we have laws regarding what can and cannot be fed to Pigs. The reason for these laws is to prevent diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease and African Swine Disease getting into Australia. For some people it is hard to believe that what you feed you pet pig could ruin Australia's export markets, cause suffering to hundreds of thousands of animals, and cost over $50 billion - but its true!

The 2001 Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in the UK was triggered by a UK farmer illegally feeding meat contaminated food waste to pigs. This one law breaker caused the death of thousands of animals, cost the UK and EU billions and caused emotional distress to farmers and veterinarians. Obviously, we want to avoid such devastation in Australia.

Dr Lauren Archer is currently studying Emerging and Exotic Animals Diseases, and is also often asked to be a pig vet to people's pet pigs and small swine herds around Brunswick Heads, Byron Bay and the Tweed. These two worlds collide when answering the question "What can I feed my pig?"

You can feed the following to you pigs:

Milk, milk products and milk by-products
Eggs
Commercial Dry meal made from meat, blood or bone processed by commercial hot rendering and purchased from a reputable produce store or feed merchant
Non-meat bakery food substances
Fruit, vegetables and cereals

You cannot feed your pigs what is called "Swill". Swill is food scraps containing or having been in contact with meat. It is illegal to feed pigs swill, and comes with big fines. To avoid penalties and protect Australia's animals never feed a pig:

Meat containing products such as sausage rolls, bacon and cheese rolls, meat pies, pizza and deli meats.
Table scraps that contain or have been in contact with meat or meat products
Household, commercial or industrial waste, including restaurant food and discarded cooking oils
Anything that has been in contact with meat via collection, storage or transport in contaminated containers (such as meat trays and take-away food containers)

Many people in our area, around Byron Bay and Tweed, have a few household pigs or a pet pig. It's a great idea to be feeding your pigs your scrap vegetable, egg, and milk products. You just need to think of them as strict vegetarians when giving them scraps. Keep meat separate at all times and then your pigs and Australia will be safe from fatal exotic diseases

Posted 07 November, 2018

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