Antonio Velarde
[authors]
Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA). Spain
antonio.velarde@irta.cat
Dr. Antonio Velarde is a researcher in IRTA (Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology-Spain) leading different projects on animal welfare. He started his scientific work in the section of ethology at the School of Veterinary Science of Barcelona on a project on effect on stunning system on welfare and meat quality in pigs and sheep. Main research projects and interests include the European projects “Integration of animal welfare in the food quality chain: from public concern to improved welfare and transparent quality (Welfare Quality® - Food-CT-2004-506508. 2004-2009), and “Religious slaughter: improving knowledge and expertise through dialogue and debate on issues of welfare, legislation and socio-economic aspects (DIALREL- 043075. 2006-2009). He has published many papers in international and national journals and has been member of the working groups ‘on the welfare aspects of animal stunning and killing methods’ and ‘Welfare aspects of piglets castration’ of the Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare of the European Food Safety Authority.
Welfare Evaluation: Welfare Quality Protocol ®[What the experts say ]Antonio Velarde The European Welfare Quality® project has developed systems to objectively evaluate animal welfare on farms and slaughterhouses in order to identify the causes of deficient wellbeing and to assess farmers on possible improvements. |
Alternative to surgical castration without anesthesia (I)[What the experts say ]Antonio Velarde The administration of local or general anesthesia, accompanied in all cases by a long-lasting analgesic, eliminates or considerably reduces the pain caused by surgical castration. However, the use of these products has certain limitations. |
Alternative to surgical castration without anesthesia (II)[What the experts say ]Antonio Velarde Immunological castration also reduces sexual behavior and aggressiveness during the final weeks of fattening, in this way increasing the time dedicated to the ingestion of food |
Surgical castration without anesthesia[What the experts say ]Antonio Velarde Xavier Manteca Approximately 80% of the 120 million male pigs that are slaughtered every year in the European Union are castrated (EFSA, 2004). |
Pig vision and management/handling[What the experts say ]Antoni Dalmau Pol Llonch Antonio Velarde Pigs have a panoramic vision of 310º and binocular vision of 35-50º (Fig. 1). This means that compared to humans, pigs prioritise their lateral monocular vision and this increases their panoramic vision (greater capacity for detecting possible danger, food, other pigs, etc) and decreases their bifocal vision (greater difficulty for calculating distances). |
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