Welcome to the BPA on-line survey

One of the biggest challenges faced by a breed society is to maintain an accurate picture of the live population. Breeders don’t often tell us when pigs die or are killed. Why is this figure so important? The number of breeding sows and boars in each breed is the starting point for any genetic conservation programme. Three key elements of the UK National Action Plan for Farm Animal Genetic Resources are Inventory, Monitoring and Conservation.

The first step is for us to establish an accurate inventory and then monitor the progress of the breed. We have invested in new computer technology to improve the efficiency and accuracy of this process.

It is important that we know the size of the population but we also have to know how many pigs there are in each line within the breed. This information can then be used to develop conservation breeding programmes. It is no use identifying the five most important boars in a breed to go into the semen freezing programme if four of them are already dead.

We need your help to keep our database accurate and up to date so that it can be used for the maximum benefit of the breed.

Some frequently asked questions about the survey.

Q. Some of my registered pigs do not appear on my survey.

A. Please use the on-line herdbook to check that these pigs are alive and if not bred by you that they have been transferred into your name by the previous owner. If they are showing as "dead" please inform the BPA and they can be resurrected. If they have not been transferred to you they will need a transfer form. Please inform the BPA in writing or by e-mail with proof of ownership.

Q. I notified some litters last month and they are not on the survey.

A. We only survey Birth Notified pigs between the ages of 6 months and 24 months. Birth notified pigs less than 6 months old are not considered as breeding stock. They will be included in the next survey. You can also kill of these younger pigs via the members area after you have completed the survey.

Q. There are Birth Notified pigs from 2004 to 2006 on my paper survey that I killed off last year.

A. These pigs have already been killed off and should not have appeared on the printed forms. Please accept our apology for any confusion this has caused. If you are completing your survey on paper please ignore any birth notified pigs born before 1st January 2007. If you do have any live unregistered  pigs born before this date please tick them on your survey.

Q. I have an old sow that is retired. Should I include her in the survey.

A. No. The Bloodline survey aims to establish the breeding population so it should not include pigs that are too old or too young to breed.

Click here to download a copy of the survey instructions.
 

To log on to your survey, click here.

The British Pig Association