Designated pathogen-free pigs – origins and welfare
Living Cell Technologies (LCT) sources pig cells for transplants from designated pathogen-free pigs housed in special facilities and looked after by trained staff who ensure they are happy and breed well.
Origins of LCT’s pigs
The rugged and windswept subantarctic Auckland Islands (about 465 km south of Bluff, New Zealand) are home to a unique breed of disease-free pigs. These pigs are the descendants of pigs left by sailors in the early 1800s as a food source in case of shipwrecks.
Cells from a unique breed of pigs
To minimise the risk of disease transmission from pigs to humans, LCT uses a unique breed of pigs as the source of cells for their pig cell transplants. The pigs come from the isolated environment on the subantarctic Auckland Islands and are free of diseases commonly seen in the domestic pig herd.
LCT houses the pigs in a specially designed barrier facility that prevents entry of disease-causing pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria. The herd is designated pathogen-free and tested regularly to ensure they remain so.
Get article: Designated pathogen-free pigs – origins and welfare.
In 1997, the Rare Breeds Conservation Society brought 17 pigs from the Auckland Islands to Invercargill. The pigs were housed in a special ‘clean’ facility where they thrived and bred successfully. The Department of Conservation is eventually planning to eradicate pigs from the islands because they are destroying rare plant life and threatening bird populations.
Pathogen-free pigs supply cells for transplants
LCT tested the relocated Auckland Island pigs and found that they were free of diseases commonly found in domestic pig herds. Their prolonged isolation on the island had minimised their exposure to disease-causing pathogens, like viruses and bacteria. These pigs are the ideal source of cells for transplanting into people – as long as they remain pathogen-free. Find out more about Pig viruses and virus testing in this article.
Keeping pigs pathogen-free
The pigs are housed in a purpose-built designated pathogen-free (DPF) facility that is designed to protect the pigs from exposure to infectious diseases. The facility is made of concrete – a robust material that pigs cannot damage and is easy to clean. It is a windowless building with controlled temperature and lighting. The air in the facility is pumped in so the highest-pressure area is where the pigs are kept and the pressure drops as you get closer to the facility entrance. This helps to prevent pathogens getting in.
Designated pathogen-free pig facilities
Pathogens are disease-causing organisms, such as viruses and bacteria. LCT pigs are already free of most common pig diseases, and to keep them that way, they are kept in a specially designed DPF facility. This is important because LCT uses the pigs’ cells to treat humans with diseases like type 1 diabetes.
The DPF facility has a physical barrier, and everything that crosses the barrier must be sterile, including the pigs’ food, bedding, water and air. Even the staff, their clothes and equipment have to be clean before crossing the barrier.
Questions to consider
Why is it important for LCT to rear their pigs in a DPF facility?
What does sterile mean?
What steps are used to ensure items inside the DPF facility are sterile?
A barrier to pathogen entry
Importantly, the DPF facility contains a physical barrier through which only clean and sterilised materials can pass. Every item that crosses the barrier into the pig area is filtered or sterilised to kill pathogens – this includes air, water, feed, bedding, tools and environmental enrichment toys. Even staff must shower and change into clean clothes, boots, hats, gloves and masks before they can cross the barrier and start work. Staff don’t work if they are ill or have been in contact with someone with an infection, such as a cold, sore throat, flu or measles. Also, the facility staff don’t have contact with any pigs outside the facility.
Pig welfare and environmental enrichment
Like all other animals in New Zealand, the pigs at LCT are kept according to the Animal Welfare Act 1999. An animal ethics committee oversees LCT’s research. Pig welfare is important to the staff at LCT, and they are constantly striving to improve their processes.
Pig environment enrichment
A pig playing with an inflatable ball in a designated pathogen-free facility. Pigs are playful, and environmental enrichment toys, like balls, buoys and pull toys are used to provide distraction and keep them happy.
All staff in the DPF facility are trained to work with pigs in a calm, quiet manner. To maintain their pathogen-free status, the pigs are kept inside the facility at all times, so it’s important to allow them to move freely. They are kept in large, individual pens but can see their neighbours and are allowed to socialise twice a day when their pens are cleaned. Environmental enrichment toys are used to entertain and distract the pigs. Pigs are playful and like toys such as basketballs, shipping buoys and pull-toys.
Pig welfare at LCT
LCT sources its pig cells from a unique breed of pigs. The pigs are kept in a specially designed designated pathogen-free barrier facility that prevents entry of disease-causing pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria.
Independent vets monitor the pigs’ welfare, and facility staff work hard to make sure the pigs are happy and healthy. The cells are sourced from 7–16 day old piglets, and the staff respond to the needs of each sow after her piglets are taken away.
Questions to consider
Why is pig welfare important?
What techniques do the staff use to keep pigs happy and healthy?
Pig maternity facilities
Ultimately, LCT pigs are kept so that they breed and produce piglets that are used as a source of cells for transplants. The DPF facility has a maternity room for pregnant sows close to giving birth, which has underfloor heating and dim lighting. Each sow has 2–3 litters of piglets each year. Once the piglets are 7–16 days old, they are usually removed from the sows. The piglets are then transported to LCT where the cells are harvested and they are euthanised. Sows may get upset when their piglets are removed, and staff use a number of techniques to distract the pigs at this time such as moving them to new pens and giving them new toys to play with.
Useful links
Keep up to date with the latest developments with the Algorae Pharmaceuticals Ltd (previously LCT).
Auckland Islands pig rescue: The story of the Auckland Islands pig capture and relocation, from the website of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand.
Eradicating pigs and cats from the Auckland Islands: More information about the introduced pests on the Auckland Islands from the Department of Conservation.
Animal Welfare Act: All animals in New Zealand are protected under the Animal Welfare Act, which is summarised on the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) website.
