Local characteristics of pig farming
For most farmers interviewed (22/30, 74%), pig farming was the main source of income and for 26% this activity was only complementary. The majority of farms (20/30 67%) were specialized in breeding-fattening, an activity that requires considerable investment, but offers a certain autonomy, since the breeder takes care of births, breeds and fatten the pigs himself. The remaining 33% were fatteners that ensured the growth and finishing of the pigs until slaughtering. More than a third of farmers (39%) were in possession of an organic farming label and most farmers processed the meat themselves (20/30 67%). Among those, (10/24 42%) had their own processing workshop and (14/24 58%) manufactured their meat in a Cooperative. Slaughter on the farm was practiced by 20% of farmers, once a year for their own consumption. The average size of the pig herds among the interviewed farmers consisted of 75 animals (median 50, IQR [2.4: 30.4]). The average herd was composed of 3 sows and 1 boar, with an annual progeny of 11 piglets on average and 60 pigs for fattening by breeding (medians and IQRs are provided in Table 3). The majority of farms (84%) opted for deliberately keeping a mixture of different breeds because they claimed that domestic pig hybrids provided a better yield and were more resistant to stay all year round outdoors. However, 16% of farmers claimed a preference for the Mangalitza, a rustic Hungarian breed renowned for the quality of its meat. A significant proportion of farms (42%) covered an area <3 ha, 39% have an area between 3 and 6 ha and 19% of farms have a large area > 6 ha. Among the 30 farms interviewed, a total of 7 farms had no fence. However, 6 of them were protected by 2 to 4 electric wires. A group of 18 farms had one fence and 1 to 4 electric wires and 3 farms had 2 fences and 2 to 4 electric wires. Finally, one farm had a wall and one farm a fully electrified fence. Two farms admitted that part of their farming area was not fenced, the pigs being able to leave and enter at their will. In terms of practices facilitating indirect pathogen spread in the environment, five farmers (16%) recognized releasing slurry for fertilizing crops at least once a year, while seven of them (23%) admitted releasing farm slaughtering waste into the environment, allowing scavenging by other wild or domestic animals. In addition, several risky practices were found to be more common in the OD area (abandonment of waste in the wild (n = 4), slurry spreading (n = 4) and presence of wild boars in the slurry spread area (n = 3) than in the rest of the Department. Similarly, a larger proportion of farms with low to intermediate levels of biosecurity (21/30), were located inside the OD area (Fig. 2).