Guidance

Vets: testing pigs for animal health and welfare review

Updated 22 January 2026

Applies to England

You should follow this for each herd you test. 

Test type and sampling 

Wherever possible, sampling should happen on the date of your first animal health and welfare review visit or as soon as possible after.

If the farm routinely vaccinates, you should sample vaccinated pigs.

When collecting samples from pigs, you must choose a method that minimises stress and harm wherever possible.

Oral fluid sampling method

You should use oral fluid sampling wherever possible as it is non-invasive. Oral fluid sampling is the preferred method for the review.

You must:

• use 5 uncoated cotton ropes to collect oral fluids from at least 30 pigs
• collect a separate oral fluid sample from each of the 5 ropes
• immediately cool the oral fluid samples to protect against degradation
• send samples to an accredited laboratory for testing
• request enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing on each of the 5 saliva samples to detect Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) antibodies

The number of pigs that interact with the ropes will depend on the size of the pen. There should be at least 30 across the 5 ropes but higher numbers generate better samples.

You must not:

• pool the saliva samples (a test from each rope is a requirement for funding)
• request any other type of testing (only ELISA testing is valid)

If you want further information on oral fluid sample collection, you could read the guidance from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Blood sampling method

Blood sampling is more invasive and requires skilled handling to reduce risk and stress. If you are not a specialist pig veterinarian, contact the Pig Veterinary Society for advice before carrying out blood sampling.

Only use blood sampling when other methods are unsuitable – this might apply in situations where pigs are outdoors at the time of the visit.

You must:

• follow best practice for restraint, sampling, and post-procedure monitoring
• collect a sample from 30 individual pigs
• send samples to an accredited laboratory for testing
• request enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing on each of the 30 blood samples to detect Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) antibodies

You must not:

• pool the blood samples (a test is done on each one).
• request any other type of testing (only ELISA testing is valid)

Sequencing of genetic material is not funded as part of the review. Funding will be available to test positive herds in the follow-up.

Review payment rates are based on our preferred (oral fluid) sampling and accredited laboratory testing. Blood samples are generally more expensive to test. We will not change the payment rate if you select blood sampling.

Farmers can only claim for 1 set of review tests per herd for each year of the agreement. They will not get funding to re-test or carry out further tests based on the results of the review.

Review medicine usage (optional)

The farmer may ask you to discuss farm medicines.

You could discuss:

• recommendations about medicines used on the farm, including antibiotics and vaccinations
• how and when to use preventative medicines, and how to store them
• the value of testing over treatment and why the right diagnostics can save money

You could tell the farmer about the AHDB Medicine book for pigs.

Test sample laboratory analysis

Send the test samples to a laboratory that is UKAS accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for PRRS enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

A farmer will not be eligible for funding unless the laboratory meets this specification.

Find a laboratory to test for PRRS in pigs.

Test results

You should receive either:

• 5 test results if you used oral fluid sampling
• 30 test results if you used blood sampling

You must:

• discuss the test results and any further action or recommendations with the farmer
• provide a positive or negative overall test result to the farmer and include the result in the summary sheet
• talk to the farmer about doing an endemic disease follow-up

For oral fluid sampling, if there is one positive result among these, then the herd is considered positive for PRRS antibodies.

For blood sampling, each sample is tested separately using an ELISA test which detects antibodies to PRRS virus in serum or plasma.  Positive results indicate previous exposure to PRRS virus or vaccination.

What documentation you need to give the farmer

When you have completed the review, the farmer will ask you to give them:

• a written report
• a vet summary

Written report

The written report should include:

• laboratory test results
• advice or suggested health and welfare actions
• other findings, for example biosecurity recommendations and medicine usage
• actions to address issues from the review – this is likely to be 2 to 3 but can be more or less based on individual needs
• information about other concerns the farmer raised

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will not ask to see the report.

Vet summary

The summary gives the information the farmer needs to make a claim. The RPA may ask to see the summary as evidence the review took place. It should be a separate document.

We suggest you use our vet summary templates for pig testing. However, if you choose to use your own summary template, it must include the following information.

About the farmer’s business

Must include:

• the species the farmer chose for the review
• the single business identifier (SBI)
• the name of the business where the review took place
• the agreement number

Tell us about this herd

Must include:

• herd name 
• CPH number for the herd 
• if they are the only herd associated with the SBI 

if not, reasons why they are a separate herd including:

• they have separate management needs (for example, year-round or block calving) 
• they have unique health needs (for example, different vaccination schedules)
• they are a different breed (for example, breed types kept completely separately) 
• they are used for another purpose (for example, breeding, conservation grazing, cultural or heritage purposes like showing) 
• they have been kept completely separate (for example, at a different location, housing or grazing area)

The examples given are not exhaustive. Use your veterinary judgement when selecting the reasons.

Review details

Must include:

• the date of the vet’s last visit to the herd for the review
• the date samples last were taken for the review
• confirmation the farmer had the minimum number of animals required on the date of the review
• the number of animals samples were taken from
• the vet’s name  
• the vet’s Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) number
• the laboratory unique reference number (URN) for the test results
• whether oral fluid or blood sample were taken
• the number of oral fluid or blood samples tested
• the test results

Confirmation and signature

Must include:

• confirmation the vet gave the farmer a written report
• the vet’s signature and date – the signature can be digital or on paper