The marketing and technical services manager with AcuShot Needle-Free says the biggest factor limiting the adoption of needle-free injection technology for the administration of veterinary compounds to pigs is the economic pressures facing pork producers.
Needle-free injection technology utilizes high pressure and high velocity to blast the compound being administered to the animal through the skin without the need for needles.
Mike Agar, the marketing and technical services manager with AcuShot Needle-Free, says the technology offers a range of benefits including reduced risk of transferring infection from one pig to another through needles, reduced pain and stress on the animal and improved food safety but adoption of the technology has been slowed by economic considerations.
I would suggest it’s primarily a long term economic downturn in the hog industry.
The equipment isn’t excessively expensive but it certainly is a capital expenditure for these guys.
Even though there’s been a couple of subsidies in place to try and help, to really be practical the economics for these producers has been very difficult to make a change when they really don’t have any spare money and they’ve been losing money for a number of years.
To be able to implement something let alone take care of just the day to day operation and maintenance of the buildings let alone add a new technology is very very tough.
We’re working on ways to try and facilitate the equipment into the market place to help them, the government is working on a few subsidies but still it’s a very difficult situation to get uptake to where it would really make a dent in the market place.
Agar says were are seeing examples where producers have been successful with the technology.
He foresees, as concerns over animal welfare and food safety become more important in the marketing of any type of meat product and awareness of the benefits of needle-free injection builds, interest in technology will grow.
