Husbandry practices among peri-urban free-roaming pigs in Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Interactions at the human-animal-environment interface have increased significantly as a result of globalisation, increased urbanisation, environmental degradation and the growing need for animal-based foods, leading to the growth of peri-urban agriculture. We investigated peri-urban free-roaming pig (FRP) production husbandry practices to identify production constraints in a district municipality in South Africa. Pig farmers (n=124) were identified using snowball technique and interviewed. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS V28.0. Most of the FRP farmers were men (70.2%), aged ≥ 36 years (80.7%), and individuals with ≤ high school education (84.6%). The majority (75.8%) did not have a weaning protocol, and a large proportion (93.5%) conducted peri-urban FRP without permission from the local authority and were not registered for animal identification (72.6%). Over 94.4% of the farms didn’t employ routine disinfection and were unaware of transboundary animal diseases and zoonosis (87.1%). Most pigs in the study area (72.5%) were exotic breeds, or their crosses and most sows (51.6%) farrowed 6-10 piglets per litter. Exotic breeds or their crosses weaned larger litters (>11) compared to indigenous breeds. Pigs scavenging in residential areas had a significantly higher risk of theft and accidents. The widespread poor husbandry practices among FRP farmers provides an opportunity to develop tailored risk communication and community engagement materials for farmers and communities. Municipalities should adopt a fit-for-purpose peri-urban livestock policy, with clear incentives and penalties to promote animal identification and good practices. Given the potential for pigs to spread disease to humans, good practices will reduce the risk of humans contracting diseases from animal-derived food.