This week, a largescale preparedness exercise is being conducted to walk through the first days of a hypothetical African Swine Fever outbreak in the United States. This vast, comprehensive exercise conducted by both federal and state government officials is critically important so the U.S. pork industry can be better prepared for an event we hope we never see.

Yet while many producers, packers, and veterinarians will cover and address a myriad of contingencies, I suspect the mental health of those who will be directly impacted by a foreign animal disease outbreak is not on that list. It absolutely should be.

September is suicide awareness month. My fellow blogger, Tom Johnston, broached the topic of mental health in the workplace in his blog Check Your Heads a few weeks ago and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to build on the conversation he started.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in recent years that workers in the farming, fishing and forestry industries have some of the highest suicide rates of any professional group.

Though farming has often been romanticized as an idyllic life, today’s farmers must show more resilience than their ancestors. In addition to traditional factors over which they had no control - namely weather, disease and pests – today’s farmers face increased economic volatility in a global marketplace, increased pressure from lenders, and a tight labor supply. It is easy to see that even without a foreign animal disease outbreak, this population is stressed.

Farmers aren’t the only ones in our industry affected. Veterinarians are up to 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than members of the general population according to a study published last year in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Long work hours, work overload, euthanasia procedures, and poor work-life balance were cited amongst the list of contributing factors.

Let’s also not forget to recognize those packing plant employees who participate in stunning and sticking every day. They, too, have a responsibility and a sense of care when humanely ending an animal’s life. These workers should also be given special attention when it comes to their emotional well-being.

It may seem counterintuitive that the death of livestock could cause stress or anguish to anyone working in the pork industry. These animals are destined to be food, right? Yet, it is important to acknowledge the significant difference between euthanasia due to disease and the expected outcome at the plant. Why? Because it is farmers’ job to nurture those pigs and ensure their health and wellbeing while in their care. In the case of a foreign animal disease where mass euthanasia may be necessary, the recognition that we’ve fallen short of this goal is bound to take an emotional toll.

During our industry’s last major health challenge, the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak in 2013, pork producers all over the United States faced massive losses and the grim reality of having to euthanize significant numbers of animals to reduce suffering and minimize the spread of the virus. Conversations with farm managers in the months following the outbreak brought to light something that many of us may have never considered - the mental and emotional toll of having to watch or participate in the deaths of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pigs.

I spent a year as the director of animal welfare for a large pork production system and became very interested with the psychological impact of caregivers being asked to euthanize animals. Not much research has been done on the topic, but my personal experience was that the euthanasia of sick and injured pigs plays a significant role in the recruitment and retention of labor on farm.

I challenge our industry to study this area further and look at ways to provide resources to help anyone in the industry who is asked to perform euthanasia. While the issue is exacerbated during major health outbreaks, it is in fact an everyday reality of modern pig production.

And for those involved in the ASF exercise this week, as the industry discusses follow-up activities for the weeks to come, I encourage you to incorporate dedicated resources for mental health counseling in your crisis plan. The data shows us that it’s something we need to collectively address.

The invisible impact (on humans) of a foreign animal disease outbreak

Join for free* to continue reading.