A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF VETERINARY PRACTITIONERS: AN APPROACH TO CLARIFYING EMERGING ISSUES OF PIG INFERTILITY
D.F. Twomey, J.C. Gibbens, A.J.C. Cook, C.A. Byrne, J.R. Thomson, S. Kennedy and C.E. Glossop

Abstract
A survey of veterinary practitioners providing services to breeding pig enterprises in the United Kingdom was carried out to investigate a perceived problem of poor reproductive performance in pigs, reported in the autumn of 2002. In total, 126 veterinary practitioners completed questionnaires for the survey, representing 937 breeding farms visited during the months of September, October and November, 2002. Infertility had been reported on 316 (34%) of the farms visited during this period, the majority of which were in England. The cause of infertility remained unexplained after veterinary consultation on 163 of them, giving an estimate of prevalence of the syndrome of 17%. There was little evidence of an unexplained infertility syndrome in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and few breeding herds in Wales were represented.
Where the cause of infertility remained unexplained, the syndrome was mainly characterised by increased regular and irregular returns to service, reduced farrowing rate and reduced numbers of pigs born. Abortion and other presentations were infrequently recorded. There was no clear parity pattern on most affected farms. Responding veterinary practitioners were invited to suggest causes of unexplained infertility. Many, both infectious and non-infectious, were suggested, highlighting the difficulty of confirming many of the differential diagnoses of pig infertility.
The approach used to investigate the problem was successful. There was a high response rate from veterinary practitioners providing advice to clients with breeding pigs. This rapid survey gathered data that supported anecdotal reports of an increased prevalence of unexplained infertility, and indicated that this may have been due in part to the recognised difficulty in investigating and confirming known causes.

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