Attitudes of Danish pig farmers towards requirements for hospital pens

Thomsen, Peter T.; Klottrup, Anne; Steinmetz, H.; Herskin, Mette S.

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2016.03.005

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Hence, most farmers chose more than one option, and at present the underlying reasons behind these are not clear. Only recently, the special needs of sick pigs, and the potential advantages from the use of hospital pens have received scientific attention 28 29 . At present, the reported choices of the farmers cannot be evaluated, and studies are needed to clarify these areas, especially for clinical conditions typically reported in cull sows such as lameness, prolapses or shoulder ulcers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

et al. 2020

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BackgroundApproximately 50% of sows are slaughtered each year, but management of cull sows is not well described.MethodsWe aimed to describe how cull sows are sent to slaughter using a questionnaire survey emailed to 885 Danish pig farmers, including questions about the use of pick-up facilities (either a designated pen used for reasons of biosecurity and practicality, in a special part of the barn, where pigs are kept in the last hours before being loaded onto a commercial truck, or a stationary vehicle kept outside the buildings and used for the same purpose) and evaluation of fitness for transport.ResultsA total of 360 farmers answered all questions, constituting a homogeneous group of middle-aged, experienced males. The management of the sows seemed rather variable, for example regarding choice of pick-up facility, its available resources, actions taken when sows were not fit for transport and sow conditions leading to doubt about fitness for transport. Special condition transport was only reported rarely, and rejection of sows due to lack of fitness for transport, by drivers or veterinarians at the slaughterhouse, was only rarely experienced.ConclusionThese findings may be used for formulation of hypotheses for future studies in this area characterised by welfare challenges, potentially leading to science-based recommendations relevant for animal welfare, productivity and biosecurity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

et al. 2020

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“…“when bad becomes normal” [ 23 ], and tolerance towards certain welfare issues such as tail lesions [ 24 ]. In addition, some producers are reluctant to use hospital pens or use different criteria when deciding if a pig is ‘sick enough’ to be moved to a hospital pen [ 25 ]. Research into the attitudes of pig producers regarding use of hospital pens and their tolerance for certain welfare outcomes is needed to devise proper management strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of welfare outcomes in the weaner and finisher stages of the production cycle on 31 Irish pig farms

et al. 2018

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BackgroundKnowledge on the most prevalent welfare problems for pigs in different production stages is required to improve herd management plans. Thirty-one farrow-to-finish pig farms were visited between July and November 2015 to assess the welfare of pigs using the multicriteria approach of the Welfare Quality® protocol. On each farm, 6 pens were selected using proportionate stratified sampling in the first weaner (S1, 4 to 8 wks), second weaner (S2, 8 to 13 wks) and finisher stage (S3, 13 to 23 wks), excluding hospital pens. Each pen was observed for 10 min and the number of pigs affected by different welfare outcomes was recorded. The percentage of pigs affected was calculated and ranked to identify the most prevalent outcomes within each production stage. Differences between production stages were analysed using generalised linear mixed models for binomial data with pen within stage and farm as a random effect.ResultsTail and ear lesions showed the highest prevalence; however, large variation was observed between farms. In S1 the most prevalent welfare outcomes (presented as median prevalence) were poor body condition (4.4%), lethargic pigs (1.5%), scouring (20.3% of pens) and huddling (3.7%). In S2 and S3 outcomes related to injurious behaviour (tail lesions: 5.9% [S2] and 10.5% [S3], ear lesions: 9.1% [S2] and 3.3% [S3], and flank lesions: 0.4% [S2] and 1.3% [S3]), lameness (0.8% [S2] and 1.1% [S3]), bursitis (3.9% [S2] and 7.5% [S3]) and hernias (1.6% [S2] and 1.8% [S3]) were more prevalent.ConclusionsA large variation was observed for the recorded welfare outcomes corresponding to the different challenges pigs experience during the different stages of production on commercial pig farms. The prevalence of pigs affected by lesions caused by injurious behavior is a cause for concern and requires a collaborative approach to identify appropriate intervention strategies. This information could be used to further investigate appropriate benchmark values for different welfare outcomes that would assist the pig industry to develop appropriate health and welfare management plans to minimise welfare problems. At herd level such plans should include information on aspects of intervention, treatment, and the management of hospital pens as well as euthanasia.

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“…Contrary to many other questionnaire surveys within animal science (e.g., Thomsen et al, 2012 , 2016 ; Ison and Rutherford, 2014 ), the present study was not based on an on-line questionnaire, but on a live, oral interview. This way to approach the respondents was chosen in order to increase response rate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences and opinions of Danish livestock drivers transporting sows regarding fitness for transport and management choices relevant for animal welfare

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Gould

Støier

et al. 2020

Translational Animal Science

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Including Denmark, modern pig production typically involves annual culling rates close to 50%. One important professional group in this process are livestock drivers transporting the animals to slaughter. By use of oral interviews, we aimed to describe experiences and opinions of Danish livestock drivers transporting sows, regarding fitness for transport and management choices relevant for animal welfare. All livestock drivers (N = 30) associated with a large slaughterhouse in Denmark accepting sows were approached in person, after having unloaded sows, and asked questions by an interviewer. A total of 22 livestock drivers (73%) answered all questions, constituting of a heterogeneous group of men of varying age, level of experience, time since they achieved the legally required certificate of competence, and daily involvement in sow transportation. Among livestock drivers included in the present study, doubt about fitness for transport was not uncommon, and specific reasons underlying their doubt were listed. All respondents reported to have experienced having to reject loading a cull sow who had been selected for slaughter by a herd manager, and approximately 40% did this several times a year. In contrast, almost 50% had never experienced having a sow rejected by the veterinarian at the slaughterhouse due to lack of fitness for transport. When asked about their management of sows during transportation, the majority (71%) reported using special condition transport (use of extra bedding and partitions to separate individual sows from rest of the load) less than once per month. All respondents considered hot days a problem for welfare of sows and the majority reported to adjust air intake of trucks daily or several times per week. In addition, approximately half of the respondents mentioned stationary periods (e.g., mandatory driver rests) as a challenge to sow welfare, to a degree where they had violated regulation on mandatory driver rests for the sake of welfare of the sows. The present study is among the few to focus on livestock drivers transporting sows, including questions about management choices and the animals’ fitness for transport. The findings may form basis for future development of educational programs for drivers as well as for the formulation of hypotheses for future studies in this area, characterized by complicated underlying legislation and challenges to animal welfare.

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Attitudes of Danish pig farmers towards requirements for hospital pens

Cited by 9 publications

References 3 publications

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

Significant variation in the management of cull sows before transport for slaughter: results from a survey of Danish pig farmers

Prevalence of welfare outcomes in the weaner and finisher stages of the production cycle on 31 Irish pig farms

Experiences and opinions of Danish livestock drivers transporting sows regarding fitness for transport and management choices relevant for animal welfare

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