Abstract:

Investigation of the ability to determine final destinations of pigs exhibited at the 2002 Indiana State Fair

Sandra F. Amass, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ABVP; Jessica L. Schneider, RVT; Simon J. Kenyon, B Vet Med, MRCVS, PhD

PDF version is available online.

Objectives: To identify and contact exhibitors of 4-H swine that had competed in the 2002 Indiana State Fair and to determine the destinations of the pigs directly after the fair.

Materials and methods: Nine months after the 2002 Indiana State Fair, investigators attempted to contact by telephone each household that had exhibited 4-H swine. Percentages of pigs in each of the following categories were calculated: returned to home of exhibitor; sold to someone else; marketed to slaughter directly from the fair; died; returned to owner; unknown; or refused, if the exhibitor refused to participate.

Results: Investigators contacted 556 of 753 households (73.8%), accounting for 1570 of the 2239 pigs exhibited (70.1%), and were able to determine destinations for 1364 of these pigs (60.9%). Approximately 731 pigs (53.5%) were marketed directly from the fair; 496 (36.4%) went home; 113 (8.3%) were sold; 19 (1.4%) were returned to their original owner in Indiana; and 5 (0.4%) died at the fair. Record-keeping systems for the 2002 Indiana State Fair were not adequate to track pigs in case of an exotic or enzootic disease outbreak. Telephone inquiries were not an effective means to track animals.

Implications: Livestock exhibitions provide conditions that could allow an epizootic to occur. Using the Indiana State Fair as an example, we found that no system was in place to track animals in the event of an outbreak. Regulations for exhibition of animals should include a system to accurately track exhibited animals.

Keywords: state fair, record keeping, traceback

Cite as: Amass SF, Schneider JL, Kenyon SJ. Investigation of the ability to determine final destinations of pigs exhibited at the 2002 Indiana State Fair. J Swine Health Prod 2004;12(6):282-284.

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