Biosecurity for backyard pigs
Keeping pigs as pets can be a great experience but it’s important to ensure you practise good biosecurity to protect the health of your animals as well as you and your family.
Before you get a pig
- Check with your Local Government Authority (LGA). Rules, regulations and approvals for keeping pigs of any age and for any purpose may apply.
- Register as a biosecurity entity. Registration is free for non-commercial producers and is a requirement if you own or keep one or more pigs.
- Once registered, you will be issued with a unique property identification code (PIC) associated with the land where you keep your pig/s.
Buying a pig
- Only purchase pigs from a reputable seller. The vendor must provide a movement documentation e.g. PigPass National Vendor Declaration or completed movement record.
- Obtain details of the pig’s health status: vaccinations, worm and external parasite treatments and full medication history.
- Your pig should come with a National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) pig ear tag (any size pig) as well as the PIC of the seller or a tattoo.
- Record the movement of the pig onto your property on the PigPass database.
Preventing disease in backyard pigs
Pigs can carry a wide range of infectious diseases and internal and external parasites. Many of these diseases can spread to other pigs, and some can spread to other animals and people.
Good biosecurity, hygiene, appropriate housing and preventing contact with other pigs can minimise the risk of disease occurrences or outbreaks.
You should:
- Consult a veterinarian about vaccinations, parasite treatments and suitable husbandry and feeding practices.
- Practise good biosecurity and hygiene.
- Ensure items and equipment that come into contact with your pig/s, including clothing and footwear, are clean and disinfected.
- Prevent visitors from having unnecessary contact with your pigs.
- Prevent contact between your pig/s and other domestic and feral pigs.
- Never feed meat or meat products to pigs. Feeding meat and some other foods to pigs could introduce exotic diseases such as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease into Australia. Only feed pigs commercial pig feed or fruit, vegetables and grains that have not come into contact with meat. Read more about what you can and can’t feed pigs.
- Always dispose of food waste and scraps properly so pigs, including feral pigs, can’t access and eat them.
- Check you are registered as a biosecurity entity and make sure your contact and registration details are up to date.
If you notice any pigs with unusual signs, such as lameness and reluctance to stand, blisters on the snout or feet, coordination problems, bloody diarrhoea, redness or blue blotching of the skin or sudden or unexplained death, contact your local veterinarian, a Biosecurity Queensland officer, our Customer Service Centre or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
Feral pigs
Feral pigs are pigs living in a wild state and that are not being farmed or kept in an escape-proof enclosure, cage or other structure.
Feral pigs are restricted matter under the Biosecurity Act 2014. Feral pigs must not be moved from one location to another for release back into the environment. Feral pigs living in the wild must not be given food, other than as part of preparing for or undertaking a control program.
Feral pigs can carry diseases and internal and external parasites. Many of the diseases can spread to domestic pigs and some can spread to other animals and humans.
A person dealing with feral pigs has a general biosecurity obligation to take all reasonable and practical measures to prevent or minimise the biosecurity risks associated with that dealing with the feral pigs.