Isolation pens – how should this biosecurity measure be implemented?

Background & Objectives: Animal welfare requires appropriate management of sick and injured animals. Isolation pens are essential to separate affected animals, yet key practical aspects—such as their required number, structural design, placement, and criteria for use—remain insufficiently defined. Current legal requirements across Europe provide limited guidance, therefore the aim of the study was to assess how field and official veterinarians evaluate necessity, capacity, design, and operational function of isolation pens in Austrian pig production. Material and methods A survey was conducted among Austrian official (A, n=25) and herd veterinarians (B, n=43) using LimeSurvey. Questionnaire contained 16 items addressing necessity, required capacity, structural design, placement, and minimum standards for isolation pens. Results In percentage terms, responses regarding necessity of isolation were largely comparable between groups A and B for categories such as biters (A: 90.7%, B: 84.0%), severe injuries (A: 96.0%, B: 90.7%), and animals unfit for transport (A: 74.4%, B: 80.0%). However, considerable divergence was observed for animals with infectious diseases (A: 64.0%, B: 34.9%). Concerning the design of isolation pens, soft and enclosed lying areas, bedding, and retreat options were rated as more important by group A (84.0%, 88.0%, 68.0%) compared with group B (55.8%, 34.9%, 20.9%). Both groups agreed on the importance of effective animal observation (A: 76.0%, B: 74.4%) as well as the need for adequate cleaning (A: 96.0%, B: 95.3%) and disinfection (A: 92.0%, B: 90.7%). Conclusion Survey results indicate herd, and official veterinarians do not fully align in their assessments. More detailed and uniform guidelines could support the establishment and management of isolation pens – supplemented with representative examples that reflect heterogeneous farm conditions – and could therefore foster a shared understanding among farmers, herd veterinarians, and regulatory authorities. Establishing such common standards would constitute an important step toward improving the protection and welfare of particularly vulnerable animals.