Déborah Temple

The welfare of growing pigs in five different production systems in France and Spain: assessment of health

This study was carried out to compare the health of growing pigs in five different production systems in France and Spain using measures provided by the Welfare Quality® protocol. A total of 11,647 pigs housed on 91 commercial farms were evaluated over a two-year period (2007–2009). Farms considered as conventional were close to the European dominant production system, rearing ‘white’ pigs (eg Large White; Landrace × Pietrain) housed on concrete floors. Systems considered as differentiated had specifications to distinguish them from the conventional one. Farms that housed ‘white’ breeds of pigs on straw were then considered as a different production system. Mallorcan Black pigs managed extensively on family farms in the Balearic islands represented a third production system. The remaining two systems assessed were represented by the methods used for Iberian pig rearing extensively or intensively. Multiple Generalised Linear Mixed Models were performed for each animal-based measure of health. The straw-bedded and the conventional systems did not differ in the prevalence of any animal-based measures. Mallorcan Black pigs and Iberian pigs kept extensively had a lower prevalence of severe wounds than pigs in the conventional system and the lowest prevalence of tail biting. Focusing on pigs housed in the conventional system, several possible causal factors (such as the feeding system and the type of floor) were identified relating to severe wounds, tail biting and lameness. Therefore, the recording of simple environmental-based factors can be useful in detecting farms that are more likely to show these problems.

Effect of the duration of road transport on the physiology and meat quality of lambs

To assess the effect of transport duration on animal welfare and meat quality of lambs, two trials were performed: Forty Ile-de-France × Merino lambs were used in Trial 1 and 40 Comisana lambs in Trial 2. In both trials, the lambs, aged between 14 and 16 weeks, were divided into two groups of 20 animals. One group was subjected to a 1-h period of transportation (T1) and the other to a 24-h period of transportation (T24), both in the same truck and arriving to the same slaughterhouse at the same time. The effect of transport on serum biochemistry variables (cortisol, aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, blood urea nitrogen, creatine kinase, creatinine and total proteins), salivary cortisol, metabolites of cortisol in faeces, intra-ruminal temperature and meat quality (pH, conductivity, expressible juice, colour and shear force) was assessed. In both studies, the duration of transport did not affect serum and salivary cortisol concentration (P > 0.05). However, in Trial 2, lambs exposed to 24-h transport had a higher concentration of faecal cortisol metabolites than did those transported for 1 h (P 0.05), with the exception of blood urea nitrogen which was higher in Trial 1 for the T24 group (P 0.05). Nevertheless, in Trial 2, lambs exposed to 24-h transport had higher values of colour attribute of a* (red trend) and less tenderness or higher values of shear force (P < 0.05). The present study showed that although there is little effect on meat quality, signs of stress are detectable in lambs transported for 24 h. Therefore, in the case of lambs, the effect of long transportation periods must be considered more in terms of animal welfare than in terms of product quality.

Aggressive behavior and hair cortisol levels in captive Dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas) as animal-based welfare indicators

Ensuring welfare in captive wild animal populations is important not only for ethical and legal reasons, but also to maintain healthy individuals and populations. An increased level of social behaviors such as aggression can reduce welfare by causing physical damage and chronic stress to animals. Recently, cortisol in hair has been advanced as a non-invasive indicator to quantify long-lasting stress in many species. The sensitivity of social behavior and hair cortisol concentration was evaluated in several groups of dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas). Four different groups of gazelles from three different zoos were observed and the expression of intra-specific affiliative and negative social behaviors was assessed across the different groups. Hair samples were taken from sub-groups of animals and analyzed for cortisol concentrations. Significant differences between groups of dorcas gazelles were found in frequency of negative social behavior and hair cortisol concentration. Despite the low sample size, these two parameters had a positive Spearman correlation coefficient (rs  = +0.80, P = 0.20). These results suggest that hair cortisol levels are sensitive to differences in the social structure of dorcas gazelles. Zoo Biol. 35:467-473, 2016.

Experimental study on the effect of oral meloxicam administration in sows on pre-weaning mortality and growth and immunoglobulin G transfer to piglets

Parturation is an intrinsically risky and painful process for both the sow and the piglets that can cause welfare and economic problems. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been demonstrated to partially alleviate inflammation and pain after farrowing in sows. NSAIDs effects on piglet mortality and performance show discrepancies and no previous studies have investigated the underlying mechanism. The effects of oral meloxicam treatment to sows on immunoglobulin G (IgG) transfer to piglets around farrowing were investigated. A total of 30 multiparous sows were randomly treated with either oral meloxicam or a mock administration as control group. Treatment was administered as soon as possible at the beginning of the farrowing. A total of 325 piglets were individually weighed at farrowing (day 0) and at weaning (day +21) and piglet mortality was registered during lactation. Four piglets per sow (two piglets suckling from anterior teats and two piglets suckling from posterior teats) were selected for blood sampling at day +1, day +2 and day +20 for IgG analyses. Oral meloxicam treatment to sows significantly increased weight at weaning (mean±SE: 6563±86.3g from oral meloxicam group and 6145±103.2g from control group; P=0.0017) and ADG (mean±SE: 236±3.4g/day from oral meloxicam group and 217±4.5g/day from control group; P<0.001) during lactation, but failed to reduce piglet mortality during lactation (6.7% from oral meloxicam group and 6.8% from control group; P=0.89). IgG levels in piglets from the sows treated with oral meloxicam were significantly higher than the control group at day +1 (mean; median [95% CI] for median=31.9; 31.7 [29.6-33.6] vs. 27.9; 26.8 [25.9-28.3] mg/ml, P=0.0013) and day +2 (27.6; 27.0 [24.8-29.6] vs. 24.5; 24.2 [22.1-25.3] mg/ml, P=0.01). However, at day +20, IgG level in piglet serum was not significantly affected by the treatment (7.6; 7.6 [6.7-8.4] vs. 7.1; 6.9 [6.4-7.3] mg/ml, P=0.59). The administration of meloxicam orally at the beginning of the farrowing in multiparous sows increased the concentration of IgG in serum of piglets and enhanced their pre-weaning growth. Future research is warranted to clearly identify the proximate mechanism behind IgG effect.

Pig castration: will the EU manage to ban pig castration by 2018?

BackgroundIn 2010, the ‘European Declaration on alternatives to surgical castration of pigs’ was agreed. The Declaration stipulates that from January 1, 2012, surgical castration of pigs shall only be performed with prolonged analgesia and/or anaesthesia and from 2018 surgical castration of pigs should be phased out altogether.The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe together with the European Commission carried out an online survey via SurveyMonkey© to investigate the progress made in different European countries. This study provides descriptive information on the practice of piglet castration across 24 European countries. It gives also an overview on published literature regarding the practicability and effectiveness of the alternatives to surgical castration without anaesthesia/analgesia.ResultsForty usable survey responses from 24 countries were received. Besides Ireland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom, who have of history in producing entire males, 18 countries surgically castrate 80% or more of their male pig population. Overall, in 5% of the male pigs surgically castrated across the 24 European countries surveyed, castration is performed with anaesthesia and analgesia and 41% with analgesia (alone). Meloxicam, ketoprofen and flunixin were the most frequently used drugs for analgesia. Procaine was the most frequent local anaesthetic. The sedative azaperone was frequently mentioned even though it does not have analgesic properties. Half of the countries surveyed believed that the method of anaesthesia/analgesia applied is not practicable and effective. However, countries that have experience in using both anaesthesia and post-operative analgesics, such as Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands, found this method practical and effective. The estimated average percentage of immunocastrated pigs in the countries surveyed was 2.7% (median = 0.2%), where Belgium presented the highest estimated percentage of immunocastrated pigs (18%).ConclusionThe deadlines of January 1, 2012, and of 2018 are far from being met. The opinions on the animal-welfare-conformity and the practicability of the alternatives to surgical castration without analgesia/anaesthesia and the alternatives to surgical castration are widely dispersed. Although countries using analgesia/anaesthesia routinely found this method practical and effective, only few countries seem to aim at meeting the deadline to phase out surgical castration completely.

Local Perceptions on Conservation of Wild Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Réserve Naturelle Communautaire de Dindéfélo, Southeast of Senegal

The objective is to study the local perceptions on the conservation of wild chimpanzees 21 (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Réserve Naturelle Communautaire de Dindéfélo 22 (RNCD), southeast of Senegal, to design specific actions to improve conservation 23 management. We conducted 338 semi-structured interviews in three main villages of 24 RNCD. Three-fourths of the population were farmers. Of those interviewed, 29% 25 received elementary education. Two of the three villages participated in a project to 26 plant trees as fences. On average, 66% of the respondents were animists. Of the 27 respondents who were afraid to see a chimpanzee, 68% answered because they 28 attack. Seventy-seven percent washed their clothes in the forest river because there 29 was more water than in the village wells. Of the interviewees who threw the old clothes 30 into the forest, 50% did it due to tradition. Ninety-six percent of respondents stated that 31 chimpanzees do not feed from their crops. The main problems of the locals with the 32 Reserve were lack of water and basic resources and not been allow to cut trees in 33 protected areas. There were significant relationships between education (1 34 Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 29 December 2017 doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0198.v1

On-farm and post-mortem health assessment

Abstract Methods for animal welfare assessment are in constant evolution increasing the collection easiness and validity of animal welfare measures. The combination of on farm and at slaughter welfare assessment is fundamental to achieve a complete health assessment. The so-called ‘Precision Livestock Farming’ concept integrates computing and sensing technologies that allows recording numerous behavioural, physiological and metabolic data in livestock species. Additionally, experience from our own research and that of colleagues evidences the development of new animal-based measures of welfare that can be routinely assessed in an extensive range of contexts. The validation of indicators that can be used during meat inspection to assess health and other related issues is a good example of this. The expertise of vet pig practitioners and producers should be integrated with pig welfare research in order to improve the health of the animals. Therefore, knowledge exchange platforms that include the main actors in the pig production chain will be of paramount importance.

Opinion paper: implementing pig welfare legislation: difficulties and knowledge-exchange strategies

It has become increasingly clear that pig producers face difficulties to implement the EU legislation on animal welfare. The switch from individual sow stalls to group housing of gestating sows from January 2013 is one clear example of the difficulties found in several Member States (MS) to implement the current ‘Pig Directive’ (EU-Directive 2008/120/EC). Besides, clear cases of non-compliance, a significant number of pig producers left the industry and allowed their herds to run down because they felt unable to comply with the new legislation. This impact on the pig sector affected mostly small-scale producers. In 2013, the Commission, via a letter of formal notice, called several MS to take action to address deficiencies in the implementation of the EU legislation increasing pressure on MS to enforce group housing of sows. In the near future, producers will certainly be asked to increase compliance on issues such as the use of manipulable material. Increasing concerns on this item are illustrated by the EFSA reports on tail biting and tail docking (e.g. EFSA, 2007, 2011, 2014) and the meetings organized by the European Commission on the development of guidelines concerning the issue of enrichment material.