The importance of slaughterhouses in monitoring the occurrence of tail biting in pigs - Review

Abstract

Tail biting in pigs represents a very serious problem in modern pig farming, particularly with the intensification of the industry. It is considered a multifactorial syndrome and can be caused by various factors, leading to significant economic losses through reduced weight gain and partial or total condemnation of slaughtered carcasses due to secondary bacterial infections. The aim of this article is to summarise the current knowledge regarding tail biting in pigs, with a primary focus on the use of slaughterhouses for evaluating tail lesions and monitoring their prevalence. The introduction addresses the factors influencing the incidence of tail biting in pig farms and prevention strategies. Subsequent sections cover topics such as tail docking, the negative effects of pig tail biting, the advantages and drawbacks of examining tail lesions in slaughterhouses, and the methodical procedure for evaluating such lesions. Additionally, the article discusses the relationship between tail lesions and meat inspection findings, as well as the prevalence of tail lesions in various European countries.

Non-invasive methods for analysing pig welfare biomarkers

“…Valros et al (2022) measured the OT and procalcitonin (a marker of sepsis) levels from pig saliva samples to evaluate the potential of OT as a biomarker of chronic stress, i.e., tail biting. Tail bit-https://doi.org/10.17221/17/2024-VETMED ing is abnormal pig behaviour related to stress and poor welfare, often resulting in lesions, increased stress, or even mortality if severe (Svoboda et al 2023). The study measured OT using the AlphaLisa method and discovered that the OT levels were lower in a group of pigs with tail lesions than in the control ones assuming that pigs with lesions were under more stress (Valros et al 2022).…”