No abstract

Lameness in swine breeding herds is a common cause of compromised animal well-being and economic loss to pig producers. Current lameness assessment methods are subjective and require intensive training. It has been shown that embedded microcomputer-based force plate systems can detect lameness by measuring weight distributions in livestock. The objective of this study was to determine the minimum time required to record data from each individual load cell in the force plate system to obtain accurate sow weight distributions on each leg. Sound and induced lameness states were evaluated to ensure that time requirements were similar for both situations. Lameness was induced in 12 mixed parity sows on Day 0 using a chemical synovitis model. An embedded microcomputerbased force plate system measured weight bearing applied on each foot twice per second for 15 min on days-1, +1, +6 and +10 relative to lameness induction. Data were analyzed using mixed model equations with day relative to lameness induction, time period, foot and the injected foot included as fixed effects and sow within replicate included as a random effect. Results indicate sow weight distributions at 1 and 5 cumulative minutes were not different (p≥0.05) when compared to those cumulative results recorded for 10 min. Comparing weights for each minute across time identified potential data collection problems after 12 min; therefore, 10 min was considered the maximum time required for weight recordings. Results from the present study indicate that recorded data for 1 min could be used as the minimum time required to accurately assess lameness for each individual animal. Results from this study can be used to improve the embedded microcomputer-based force plate use efficiency when evaluating sow lameness.

Interview questionnaires were administered to the general public in central Scotland and northern England during summer 2007 to investigate consumer awareness of UK dairy production methods, welfare issues and recognition of ‘quality assurance’ product logos. Fifty percent of respondents gave UK dairy animal welfare a positive rating. Recognition of individual quality assurance logos was poor and 75% of respondents stated that they did not intentionally seek to buy products with any of the logos. Respondents’ perceptions of good dairy welfare included: appropriate feeding, good stockmanship, plenty of space, freedom to roam/free range and environmental cleanliness. Half of respondents felt they were poorly informed about food production and the majority of respondents (68%) would like more information on food production. Respondents believed that information on animal welfare provided by veterinarians and farmers would be reliable. Most respondents (93%) said they would pay more for good dairy welfare. The findings show that the general public are interested in animal welfare but could be better informed on dairy animal production and welfare. Veterinarians and farmers may have a potentially important role in providing this information with increasing demand for higher welfare provenance products potentially helping to improve animal welfare.

and Implications The objective of this study was to determine if an embedded microcomputer based force plate system (force plate) could adequately detect lameness among breeding herd females in a commercial environment. The force plate was installed in a group sow housing system for 21 days. Force distribution measurements were obtained for each sow limb daily; these were then compared to visual lameness observations. During the 21 day period minor adjustments were made to the force plate system. Results indicate that the force plate measurement was not different from the visual observations taken for lameness. This provides evidence that the force plate can withstand the destructive nature of sows, and provide a non-biased lameness detection model.