Animal category: Pigs

How Housing Conditions Determine the Welfare of Pigs

Agnieszka Ludwiczak, Ewa Skrzypczak, Joanna Składanowska-Baryza, Marek Stanisz, Piotr Ślósarz, Przemysław Racewicz

Published in 2021

A scientific review examining the effects of housing systems on pig behaviour and performance. Free-range housing solves the behavioural problems encountered for pigs raised indoors, but is associated with a more frequent occurrence of injuries and of some elbow and hock lesions.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Housing, Livestock farming system,Welfare indicators

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Reduced Stocking Density and Provision of Straw in a Rack Improve Pig Welfare on Commercial Fattening Farms

Katharina Schodl, Lisa Wiesauer, Christoph Winckler, Christine Leeb

Published in 2021

Scientific article demonstrating that it is possible to improve some welfare conditions of fattening pigs in conventional farming through simple measures such as reducing stocking density and providing straw or hay as enrichment material.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Enrichment, Living environment, Stress, Livestock farming system

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The use of animal-based measures at slaughter for assessing the welfare of pigs on farm: EFSA's AHAW Network exercise

EFSA

Published in 2021

Report on the EFSA Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) Network meeting on an exercise using  animal-based measures at slaughter to assess the welfare of pigs on farm. The goal was to evaluate these measures and their ease of use, and to identify which were to be preferred. It resulted in a list of recommended animal-based measures for use in abattoirs.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators

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Literature Review on the Pre-Slaughter Welfare of Italian Heavy Pigs

Marika Vitali, Luca Sardi, Giovanna Martelli, Eleonora Nannoni

Published in 2021

Scientific review of the state of knowledge relating specifically to the welfare conditions immediately before slaughter of Italian heavy pigs, which are used for AOP products and therefore kept longer than is the average in other countries, a practice that generates particular physiological and behavioural needs.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress, Livestock farming system

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L’agriculture bio garantit-elle un meilleur « bien-être » des animaux d’élevage ?

Eugénie Duval, Benjamin Lecorps

Published in 2021

Article demonstrating that the French organic label guarantees higher animal welfare standards than conventional farming, providing access to outdoors, banning cage rearing and tethered systems, allowing only exceptional authorisation of non-medical surgical interventions, and requiring more frequent checks and compulsory stunning before slaughter. However, the legislation on transport and slaughter is still inadequate, even in the case of organic farming.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords: Housing, Living environment, Mutilation, Livestock farming system, Transport,Societal issues

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Animal welfare: a shift from live to meat-and-carcass transport

Gediminas Vilkas

Published in 2021

Press release presenting the results of the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry into the protection of animals during transport. The committee recognised that EU rules on the protection of animals during transport are not always respected and that the welfare needs of animals during transport are not always met. It recommends limiting and better monitoring the export of live animals, developing meat-and-carcass transport and banning the transport of very young animals.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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Genome editing and farmed animals

Pete Mills

Published in 2021

Report describing genome editing techniques, and critically analysing their potential use for livestock. It makes recommendations, in particular the need for a full scientific review of the literature before changing the UK regulations in this area and for a dialogue between scientists and the public on these issues.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Resilience, Robustness, Livestock farming system

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The changing face and associated drivers of research on welfare of the gestating sow

Maria Costanza Galli, Flaviana Gottardo, Barbara Contiero, Annalisa Scollo, Laura Ann Boyle

Published in 2021

Scientific review noting a growing interest among scientists in Oceania, Latin America and Asia in the welfare issues for pregnant sows, as well as the emergence of new research topics in recent years, including group sow management and environmental enrichment.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Enrichment, Housing, Living environment,Societal issues

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Arrêté du 17 novembre 2021 modifiant l'arrêté du 24 février 2020 modifiant l'arrêté du 16 janvier 2003 établissant les normes minimales relatives à la protection des porcs

French Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Published in 2021

Decree making the live castration of domestic male pigs for anything other than therapeutic or diagnostic purposes subject to justifications relating to a particular need for the supply of castrated male pig meat as part of a quality and identification of origin label system or to production constraints.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Pain, Societal issues, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Interdiction de la castration à vif des porcelets : un arrêté et une instruction technique pour accompagner sa mise en œuvre

Julien Denormandie's Press Office,  French Ministry of Agriculture and Food's Press Office

Published in 2021

Explanation of the official documents specifying the conditions under which castration of male domestic pigs may be carried out on farms, other than for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Pain, Societal issues, Stress, Livestock farming system

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