Oral fluid
Oral fluid samples can at times replace traditional blood testing while requiring less labor and technical skill. Also there is clearly reduced stress for people and pigs, which is becoming important in modern food animal production.
Page 49 of articles about behaviour-welfare
EFSA - Preparatory work for the future assessing of pig's welfare (II)
Preparatory work for the future development of animal based measures for assessing the welfare of weaned, growing and fattening pigs including aspects related to space allowance, floor types, tail biting and need for tail docking.
EFSA - Preparatory work for the future assessing of pig's welfare (I)
Preparatory work for the future development of animal based measures for assessing the welfare of sow, boar and piglet including aspects related to pig castration.
Netherlands – New regulation for the transport of livestock
As of July 1 the Dutch government will only recognize the QLL quality system (Quality system Livestock Logistics) for transport and centers for animal collection, meaning that the use of all other certification systems will be abandoned.
Behavioral indexes of piglet welfare: Comparison of indoor and outdoor housing systems
Investigative, social-play and conflict behaviors may be effective indexes of the welfare level of piglets, especially investigative and conflict behaviors.
Sow preferences for farrowing under a cover with and without access to straw
Since feed-back from a functional nest may improve maternal behaviour and thus piglet survival we investigated if access to a covered area and ad libitum access to straw would improve maternal behaviour of importance for piglet survival.
USA - Grants extended to improve animal welfare
Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) has announced a call for proposals for its 2011-2012 Good Husbandry Grants. The Good Husbandry Grants program has funded nearly 100 projects across the country to improve farm animal welfare.
The effects of housing system and feeding level on the joint-specific prevalence of osteochondrosis in fattening pigs
Osteochondrosis prevalence can be reduced by applying deep litter floors with extra space allowance and/or restricted feeding in fattening pigs.
A meta-analysis of the combined effect of housing and environmental enrichment characteristics on the behaviour and performance of pigs
To quantify the combined effect of housing conditions and environmental enrichment on the behaviour and performance of pigs, a meta-analysis was performed using information from 45 experiments in 42 published manuscripts.
United Kingdom - NPA warns of straw shortages
Arable farmers are being urged to bale all available straw this year, as the National Pig Association (NPA) warned of serious straw shortages for pig farmers. Pig-keepers are already paying record prices for straw and there are worries that there will not be enough to go round.
The effect of pain relief at castration on piglet performance
The objective of this study was to determine if piglet performance could be improved by using analgesia during castration.
Agonistic behaviour after mixing in pigs under commercial farm conditions
The aim of the study was to investigate agonistic behaviour of pigs after regrouping pigs under commercial sow farm conditions. The behavioural patterns were observed over a 48-h period, directly after weaning (PIG-28; n = 647) and 40 days later (growing pigs, PIG-68; n = 224).
New pig welfare at slaughter online training course available
Consumer demand is increasing the need for transparency across the pork supply chain. To help promote the importance of pig welfare at slaughter, RL Consulting has developed a new, online pig welfare training course.
Group sizes and resting locations of free range pigs when grazing in a natural environment
Results show that pigs split into small subgroups to forage and maintained this division during daylight rests, however animals regrouped to rest during the night in a common area and behaved as a united flock.
Denmark - Keeping animal welfare at the forefront
Further measures to promote even higher standards of animal welfare in Denmark were launched earlier this month with a new welfare policy for the pig industry.
Netherlands – Commission authorising methods for grading pig carcasses
Due to technical adaptations and the fact that a change in the Dutch pig population is foreseen as castrated males are expected to be absent in the near future, the Netherlands has requested the Commission to authorise three methods for grading pig carcasses on its territory...