Animal welfare: Raising stress-free pigs

While rising concern over animal welfare is sparking modifications in the best way pigs are produced internationally, manufacturing prices stay a most important driver of improved welfare on pig farms. Dr Peter Evans, veterinary liaison on the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO), explains that livestock carry out higher after they’re in a wholesome, stress-free surroundings.

“The cost of production is so high that farmers cannot afford to neglect their animals. They know that stressed pigs will be less resilient, more disease-prone, take longer to finish and be less productive than stress-free animals.”

For this cause, most pig producers in South Africa observe the SAPPO Code for the Welfare of Pigs, first revealed in 1993 and frequently reviewed to make sure its relevance.

The code relies on the Five Freedoms: animals ought to be free from thirst, starvation and malnutrition; free from discomfort; free from ache, harm and illness; free to precise regular behaviour; and free from concern and misery. In addition, the code requires stockmen to be properly skilled and empowered with information to work with pigs in an acceptable manner.

Food and water
“Farmers generally understand the importance of giving their animals access to enough clean, potable water and a balanced ration of food, but we still see some cases of malnutrition on smallholder or backyard farms, where farmers don’t have the financial means to buy premixed formulations,” says Evans.

It pays to spend money on good-quality meals, as malnutrition can result in all types of issues, starting from poor progress and reproductive issues to beginning problems and dying.

“In some cases, the pigs simply do not receive enough feed, whereas they might be suffering from specific nutritional deficiencies if the rations are unbalanced,” he provides.

Farmers, as an illustration, is likely to be feeding their pigs bread waste and maize, that are excessive in vitality, however low in protein. A protein deficiency could result in poor progress and feed conversion, in addition to fatter carcasses in rising and ending pigs, whereas affecting milk manufacturing negatively and delaying oestrus in lactating sows.

Calcium and phosphorus deficiencies, in the meantime, could lead to rickets or osteomalacia, a situation that causes the bones to develop into smooth and weak. Sows that produce excessive ranges of milk and enormous litters might also develop posterior paralysis in direction of the tip of lactation attributable to calcium or phosphorus deficiencies.

To keep away from such deficiencies, Evans advises farmers to talk to their native animal well being technician or nutritionist, veterinarian, extension officer or co-operative to assist them formulate a weight loss plan based mostly on accessible sources. Food scraps are one other concern.

“The food should be free from toxins, chemicals and pathogens, as well as particles that might injure the pigs,” explains Evans.

In basic, fruit and vegetable waste will be fed to pigs with out a lot concern, however scraps that include meat ought to be boiled for no less than an hour to destroy illnesses like foot-and-mouth illness (FMD) and African swine fever (ASF).

“FMD and ASF are highly contagious diseases associated with high mortality rates. Outbreaks have to be reported to prevent the diseases from spreading to other farms,” he says.

Creature comforts
The use of climate-controlled pig housing is leading to improved progress and well being of the animals as it’s creating an surroundings underneath which pigs can thrive.

Most trendy farms have good options that routinely ventilate and regulate weather conditions based mostly on the best temperature and air high quality for particular levels of progress or copy, whereas older and resource-poor farms could use curtains and shading to guard pigs in opposition to the weather and excessive temperature fluctuations.

Evans says that animal welfare points normally come up when pigs wouldn’t have correct shelter, the housing will not be correctly ventilated, or the local weather will not be managed sufficiently.

“Whether they’re working with an automatic or manual system, farmers still need to check conditions in the pig house to ensure its proper functioning. Systems should also be inspected regularly to identify and fix breakages.”

Another costly mistake that some farmers make is to construct pig homes with out consulting a housing knowledgeable or different farmers. “A pig farmer should do their homework before investing in a pig house to ensure that what they envision will be production and labour friendly,” Evans says.

Biosecurity and the animals’ consolation are the principle points to think about when constructing a pig home; biosecurity as a result of it’s the primary line of defence in opposition to illnesses, and luxury as a result of it helps scale back stress within the animals. Farmers additionally want to think about the world used for gestating sows.

“Sows are only allowed to stay in gestation crates for the last half (eight weeks) of gestation, with many farmers no longer using gestation crates at all. It is difficult to make this transition in old pig houses, as keeping the sows in groups requires more space than when they’re kept separately in crates,” says Evans.

He provides that sows have been historically saved in gestation crates to stop them from hurting each other which, in flip, might result in harm, miscarriage or abortion. This downside has been addressed by breeding corporations by the number of extra social animals which might be much less liable to biting, preventing and aggression.

In some nations, there’s a name to maneuver away from farrowing crates, however Evans says that is unlikely to fly, as it could result in higher piglet mortalities due to sows mendacity on high of their piglets.

“With new research and technology, we might be able to find a solution to this problem, but for now farrowing crates are here to stay,” he says.

Concerns have additionally been raised internationally in regards to the probably dangerous affect that slated flooring, used to facilitate drainage, might have on the hooves of the animals. In response, some nations are calling for laws to limit the proportion of slated flooring utilized in a constructing.

Nevertheless, Evans feels that slated flooring shouldn’t be an issue if the flooring are correctly designed and constructed.

Disease prevention
Evans says that illness prevention is a no brainer, because it prices cash to deal with and get sick pigs again into form.

Over the previous few years, many nations, together with South Africa, have moved from healing to preventative well being administration, leading to biosecurity and vaccination changing into more and more necessary.

“The stronger focus on disease prevention did not develop because of growing [animal] welfare concerns, but it is resulting in improved welfare by helping to reduce and prevent the suffering of animals. No farmer I know wilfully neglects or exposes their animals to disease,” he says.

Email Dr Peter Evans at [email protected].