Animal category: Pigs

A European guide to establishing supply chains for whole or immunocastrated male pigs (English version)

European Commission

Published in 2018

Rearing: the guide includes reports of on-farm experiments to limit the occurrence of boar taint or to achieve 100% immuno-vaccination in males.
Abattoirs: the survey of methods to detect carcasses with boar taint indicates that the majority of supply chains involved use the "human nose" method, following rigorous protocols. Danish scientists report that an objective technique for quantifying malodorous molecules is being developed in an abattoir.
Curing: alternative uses for the small percentage of carcasses with boar taint are set out.
Changing practices: Last, examples of supply chains that have wholly or partially ceased surgical castration highlight the key role of retail sales personnel in promoting product chains that follow the specifications and in making consumers aware of them.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Societal issues, Risk management, Mutilation, Carcass quality, Processing

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Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for pigs

Antoni Dalmau, Antonio Velarde, Kamara Scott, Sandra Edwards

Published in 2009

This document sets out the indicators used to assess welfare in pig production (breeding sows, growing pigs), including the rearing and abattoir phases. The chosen indicators concern the resources available to the animal (housing, activities), measurements taken from the animal, and a qualitative evaluation. The document explains registration procedures, qualitative and frequency scoring methods and the aggregation of criteria from four of the five domains of welfare: nutrition, environment, health and appropriate behaviours. 

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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La relation mère-jeune chez les porcins : de la naissance au sevrage

Orgeur P., Le Dividich J., Colson V., Meunier-Salaün M.C.

Published in 2002

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Intensive pig farming imposes constraints that can be detrimental to the welfare of the pig. In wild boar or domestic pigs in semi-natural conditions, the parturient female lives in a matriarchal group and builds a nest to conceal and protect the young. A bond is established between the sow and her piglets and the suckling period lasts a minimum of 10 to 12 weeks. .... The more premature the weaning, the greater the negative impacts on behavioural and zootechnical disturbances. Proper attention to the animal's welfare calls for precautionary measures to avoid placing the animal in a situation of fear or anxiety and to enable it to express the behaviour deemed normal for the species.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Maternity, Cognitive processes, Weaning, Vocalisation

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Standardising the assessment of environmental enrichment and tail-docking legal requirements for finishing pigs in Europe

Hothersall B., Whistance L., Zedlacher H., Algers B., Andersson E., Bracke M., Courboulay V., Ferrari P., Leeb C., Mullan S., Nowicki J., Meunier-Salaün M.C., Schwarz T., Stadig L., Main D.

Published in 2016

This  e-learning module providing a concise summary of the scientific evidence that underpins EU legislation on pig enrichment and harvesting has been produced in seven languages, with the aim of improving consistency in professional judgements regarding legal compliance on farms. The mark profiles indicated that the roles of the participants had an impact on their scores but that the training led to overall improvement in: (i) their ability to identify enrichments which, due to their type or use by pigs, may be insufficient to ensure compliance; (ii) their knowledge of risk factors for tail biting; and (iii) their recognition of when tail docking occurs.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Mutilation

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Enrichissement du milieu d’élevage des porcs par la mise à disposition des matériaux manipulables

ANSES

Published in 2015

This Opinion focuses on the value of manipulable materials, whose presence offers an effective means of enriching the living environment of pigs reared on slatted floors. They encourage the expression of investigative and manipulating behaviours but also, depending on the nature of the added materials, of maternal and foraging behaviours. They preclude behavioural frustration and induce positive emotions that can reduce deviant behaviours such as cannibalism and stereotyping and can limit negative emotions. Used properly, manipulable materials can have a positive impact on animal welfare. However, this impact is variable and can be negative, depending on the physical characteristics and distribution patterns of the manipulable materials. The impact is also negative when the manipulable materials introduce health risks. Before any routine use, the effect of the materials on welfare should be tested on the animal. In light of the prevalence of slatted floors on French livestock farms, it is desirable to make best use of such materials in ways that are worth developing further, under conditions that are adapted to the animal's welfare. Work on manipulable materials has been carried out very widely and has made it possible to identify the intrinsic qualities that retain the animals' interest and encourage investigation and manipulation. However, further work is still needed on animals' motives in using manipulable materials, on the latters' effectiveness, on methods of introduction and presentation,  on an economic evaluation of their distribution, on the development of new materials, on the health risks associated with their characteristics, on their effects on brain function, on the acceptability of their use by breeders and on the contribution of their use to the public's perception of livestock farming.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords : Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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High-Fibre feeding in gestation

Meunier-Salaün M.C., Bolhuis J.

Published in 2015

Pregnant sows are generally fed in low quantities, a fact that may lead to poor satiety and may not fully satisfy their drive to express their foraging and feeding behaviours. Accordingly, feed restriction may lead to the frequent occurrence of oral activities other than feeding, including stereotypies, restlessness and aggressive behaviour in group-housed sows, which are interpreted as indicators of persistent drives and frustration associated with feeding. The inclusion of fibre in the diet reduces the latter's energy density and therefore allows meals to be larger without increasing the energy provided. In addition, dietary fibre influences the mechanisms that improve satiety and satiety at the sensory, post-digestive and post-absorption levels. This chapter examines the impact of dietary fibre on the behaviour and well-being of pregnant sows and describes its potential consequences for performance. The level of response to dietary fibre is, however, variable and depends on the characteristics of the fibre diet (inclusion rate, source of fibre, physicochemical properties), housing and feeding conditions and the characteristics of the sows, including parity, and is greater in young sows. Dietary fibre provided during gestation generally results in increased feed consumption by sows during lactation, probably due to its effects on the size and capacity of the gastrointestinal tract. Studies on the effects of fibre on reproductive performance are rare and show variable results, which could be partly attributable to an over- or underestimation of the diet's energy content during pregnancy. In conclusion, dietary fibre generally has a beneficial effect on the behaviour and welfare of pregnant sows on a restricted diet. The impact of high-fibre diets during pregnancy on reproductive performance over several successive cycles in group-housed sows merits further investigation.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Enrichment, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Bien-Etre animal

INRA

Published in 2007

Special issue on Animal Welfare, containing 14 original articles on aims, methodology and purpose, ethical foundations, variants for different species, how it is perceived by the animal industries.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Living environment,Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Hommes et animaux d’élevage au travail : vers une approche pluridisciplinaire des pratiques relationnelles

Boivin X., Bensoussan S., L'Hotellier N., Bignon L., Brives H., Brulé A., Godet J., Grannec M.L., Hausberger M., Kling-Eveillard F., Tallet C., Courboulay V.

Published in 2012

The legal recognition of animals as a "sentient beings" means that any consideration of the working relationship between humans and animals in livestock farming must take into account the points of view of both the producer and the animal. In a wider societal context, this has implications for efficient working practices and quality of life in the agricultural professions as much as it does for animal welfare. This review article focuses on multidisciplinary approaches, in particular those that combine the social sciences and ethology, to the understanding and improvement of the farming practices that determine the Human-animal relationshipsshipsship. The article points to the value of describing and evaluating differences in producers' relational practices to achieve a  Human-animal relationshipsshipsship that is beneficial to both humans and animals. 

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords: Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Social acceptability of farmed animals in France: inventory and analysis of the main controversies based on the views of different stakeholders

Delanoue E., Roguet C.

Published in 2015

In a context where livestock farming and its practices are frequently called into question, an analysis of the points of disagreement in different sectors (pigs, poultry, cattle, sheep and goats) was carried out within the framework of the Elevages Demain Scientific Interest Group (GIS). A literature review was conducted to understand the basis for social concerns about livestock farming and assess their robustness. At the same time, some thirty interviews were conducted with various stakeholders involved in the debates - professionals in the sector, employees of voluntary associations, journalists and distributors - in order to identify and describe the main areas of contention over livestock farming in France. The work highlights strongly-held and long-standing concerns on the part of the public with regard to livestock farming, which cannot be dismissed as the consequences of 'fads'. 

Document Types: Scientific review

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

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

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Abreuvement des porcs dans le cadre du bien-être animal

ANSES

Published in 2016

The report addresses the watering of pigs, focusing on those with a soup feeding system and taking into account the different stages of rearing (post-weaning and fattening piglets, pregnant and lactating sows, etc). The experts stressed the importance of the economic issue with regard to the watering of pigs on the farm, but this economic analysis was outside the scope of the expertise. The expertise focused on the production of liquid manure in pig farming in connection with watering systems, but without analyzing the environmental side of its management. The supply of sufficient quantities of water is essential for the maintenance of homeostasis and the survival of the individual. Only permanent access to drinking water allows the physiological needs of pigs to be met flexibly and individually at all times. It also enables the animal to cope with risky situations, for example, when it is hot or when it is suffering from disorders (illness, intoxication, behaviour, etc.). Moreover, permanent access to water can contribute to a state of satiation when the animal is subjected to food rationing. Permanent access to water, together with regular checks on the quantities taken, can be a warning and prevention sign of the appearance of health and welfare problems. In the case of liquid feed without the presence of a supplementary drinking trough, most of the water needs are covered for most animals. However, this type of feed does not allow permanent access to water and therefore does not allow animals to drink systematically as soon as they are thirsty. Water can be provided in the trough, but it must guarantee the permanent presence of drinking water. To ensure adequate watering with troughs, it is necessary to ensure that their design, positioning and operation guarantee optimal access regardless of the physiological stage of the animals. In the absence of manipulable materials in the pens, the drinking trough may be the target of redirected behaviour, linked to frustrated investigative behaviour (cf. Anses opinion 2013-SA-018020). Such use diverts the function of the water trough as a drinking system and may result in restricted access to water for some pigs despite a permanent supply. The introduction of water troughs in soup feeding systems may lead to an increase in the amount of water in the manure produced. However, solutions to this problem include reducing the dilution rate of the soup where technically feasible in the farm (e.g. reducing "wastage" by optimising the design and flow rate of drinkers, covering slurry pits, etc.). The experts also recommend promoting the acquisition of technical references (water flows, number of pigs per trough...) on complementary watering. At the same time, an awareness programme for farmers should be developed on the importance of watering in terms of animal health and welfare. This programme should be accompanied by technical recommendations and accompanying measures to facilitate the introduction of watering systems.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Environment, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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