Abstract
Simple SummaryAggression between pigs is an important animal welfare issue in commercial farming, and is caused by an unstable social structure due to regular regrouping of unfamiliar pigs. The behavior has been extensively researched and several strategies to reduce aggression have been identified, however, they are not commonly used by farmers in practice. We conducted a survey of 122 UK and Irish pig farmers with the aim of understanding why farmers do not adequately implement aggression control strategies. This was important in order to identify targets for encouraging a change in practice. We found that the majority of farmers mixed pigs at least once during production and had tried at least one mitigation strategy in the past. However, farmers expressed limited willingness to implement strategies in the future, and this was influenced by: (1) their beliefs about the outcome of controlling aggression; (2) their perception of their ability to implement the necessary changes; (3) their perceptions of aggression as a problem and; (4) their views of relevant stakeholder groups. Based on these findings we make important recommendations on how to bridge the gap between research and practice.Aggression between pigs remains an important animal welfare issue despite several solutions existing. Uptake of livestock welfare research relies on various stakeholders being willing to recommend or adopt changes to farm structure or management (e.g., veterinarians, researchers, farmers). This survey provides insight into the attitudes and practices of 122 UK and Irish pig farmers regarding aggression between growing pigs. Our aim was to understand why mitigation strategies are not adequately implemented. The majority of farmers mixed pigs at least once during production and had tried at least one mitigation strategy in the past. Farmers expressed limited willingness to implement strategies in the future, and a structural equation model revealed that this was directly influenced by their beliefs about the outcome of controlling aggression, and their perception of their ability to implement the necessary changes. Willingness was indirectly influenced by their perceptions of aggression as a problem and views of relevant stakeholder groups. Veterinarians had the greatest impact on farmer behavior. We recommend that researchers test research findings in practice, calculate cost-benefits of implementation, and transfer knowledge through various sources. This study showed that structural equation modeling is a valuable tool to understand farmer behavior regarding specific and entrenched animal welfare issues.
Highlights
Aggression between pigs is one of several animal welfare issues where there is resistance to change in practice despite extensive research [1,2]
Nine percent of the farmers indicated that they regroup pigs at other stages of production
Nine percent of the farmers indicated8that they regroup pigs at other stages of production. Of those that specified the timing of this mixing, both reported regrouping the remaining pigs that were not yet big enough to be sent for slaughter
Summary
Aggression between pigs is one of several animal welfare issues where there is resistance to change in practice despite extensive research [1,2]. The implementation of animal welfare research relies on a variety of relevant stakeholders. Pig aggression primarily occurs as a result of the unstable social structure created by regrouping, as pigs fight in order to re-establish dominance relationships [3]. Allowing litters to co-mingle (i.e., socialization) prior to weaning [10,11], housing pigs in relatively large groups [12], providing a diet high in tryptophan [13] and providing sufficient space [14] can all help control aggression at regrouping, but are employed by only a minority of farmers [2,15]. It is well established that a range of interrelated internal and external factors influence farmer behavior regarding animal welfare, such as personal values and attitudes, and financial and practical constraints (e.g., [16])
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