Welfare

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Castration comes to a standstill in the EU

After years of discussion, a revolution has started to take place in mainland Europe at the end of last year. A sector-wide agreement was reached to end the practice of physical castration in young piglets as from 2018. Until that time, solutions have to be applied now to relieve the animals’ pain. For some, 2018 can’t come quick enough, for others however, seven years may sound too short.
“Do you know how many potential consumers will be affected when one stinking pig makes it to the supermarket?” Dr Franz-Josef Stork, Topigs, drops a silence as to increase the... read more »

More articles

What the textbooks don’t tell you about… Stress

Due to a praiseworthy increase in productivity, we are increasingly stressing our pigs. I am not entering into the welfare debate about this, but as I shall show in my next column, stress is now costing us a lot of money.The textbooks I have on my shelves do not cover the subject adequately enough for the ordinary producer – and some textbooks not at all. The language in those that do, while scientifically correct, is usually too difficult for many of us to grasp at once as it is a complex subject, so is just not read, let alone understood. At the risk of being over-simplistic, I will attempt to explain what the producer needs to know about the subject and thus encourage him to take the required action. read more >

Group Housing for Sows: Now it's time to act

There are just 777 days from the start of EuroTier until 1 January 2013. From that date onwards, all gestating sows in the EU will have to be kept in group housing systems. While some producers have already made the switch to group housing, many still have to do so – but how? For those still undecided, EuroTier 2010 comes at the ideal time to help producers make this strategic decision. read more >

Social behavior in swine and its impact on welfare

Jeremy N. Marchant-Forde : USDA-ARS, Livestock Behavior Research Unit, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA read more >

Animal welfare and the veterinary profession: 50 years of change

David Fraser : Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada read more >

Reflection on welfare is in producers’ own interest

Interview with Prof Dr David Fraser: The discipline of animal welfare is firmly rooted in science – anyone who believes the contrary is invited to come and listen to Prof Dr David Fraser during IPVS. His plea is clear: more discussion will clarify conflicts that still exist. read more >
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