Socio-economic factors and management practices in influencing the health and sustainability of pig farming in Dakshina Kannada, India

Abstract

The present study has been designed to evaluate the Socio-economic factors and Management Practices in influencing the Health and Sustainability of Pig farming in Dakshina Kannada, India. A total of 50 pig farmers engaged in commercial pig rearing in Dakshina Kannada district were surveyed using structured questionnaire to collect details of socio-economic status, household characteristics, feeding and managemental practices, health care, hygiene and antimicrobial usage pattern to assess their knowledge, perception and attitude towards antibiotics. The results of the survey, indicated that majority of pig farmers were landless or small-scale farmers, with 74% belonging to other backward communities (OBC), 16% to Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 14% to Scheduled Castes (SC). A significant portion (74%) of the farmers were Christians. All the farmers (100%) practiced stall feeding, with kitchen or hotel waste being the primary source of feed for their pigs. This suggests a reliance on easily accessible and low-cost feeding methods. Vaccination against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and swine fever was common, with 90% of farmers regularly vaccinating their pigs. Although 67% of farmers consulted veterinarians before using antibiotics, 85% administered the antibiotics themselves or had them administered by farm workers. The most commonly used antibiotics were enrofloxacin, tetracycline, sulphonamides (Co-trimazole), and Streptopenicillin. These antibiotics were primarily used to treat respiratory and skin diseases, pyrexia, diarrhea, and urogenital infections. None of the farmers maintained records of antibiotic treatments, which could be a concern for tracking antibiotic use and preventing antibiotic resistance.