Pig Welfare Research Articles

Greek Pig Farmers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Tail Biting and Tail Docking

Tail biting is both an important economic and a welfare problem. The primary preventive measure, almost on a routine basis throughout Europe, remains tail docking following a risk analysis. This study aimed to get insight on the perceptions of Greek pig farmers towards tail docking, intervention measures, and risk factors of tail biting, as well as opinions on pig welfare themes. Eighty-two farmers answered a questionnaire provided online and in printed form. In the case of a tail-biting outbreak, the most important intervention measure is the removal of the bitten pig (victim), while feed quality, air movements, and stocking density were ranked as the highest risk factors (p ≤ 0.05). Chains are the most common type of enrichment by 67% followed by plastic objects by 29.5%. Almost half of the farmers reported having no tail-biting problem on their farm, while 64.4% of the respondents have already tried at least once to raise pigs with intact tails. To reduce routine tail docking, it is essential to apply specific farm-oriented solutions effectively. To succeed in this aim, it is important to consider farmers' concerns and practices. This study is the first step in that direction.

Analysis of Antimicrobials in Muscle and Drinking Water in Terms of Reducing the Need of Antimicrobial Use by Increasing the Health and Welfare of Pig and Broiler.

Antimicrobial residues may pose harmful effects on the health of consumers. At the same time, an adequate quality of drinking water for animals is one of the important element to ensure animal welfare and food without antibacterials. The presented study is aimed at estimating the residue levels of antibacterial compounds, such as penicillins, cephalosporin, macrolides, tetracyclines, quinolones, sulphonamides, aminoglycosides, diaminopirymidines, pleuromutilines and lincosamides in meat and on-farm drinking water samples using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), as a part of a surveillance system on pig and broiler farms within the project Healthy Livestock. A total of 870 samples of muscle from pig and broiler, as well as 229 water samples were analysed for antibiotic residues. Samples were collected from farms in EU countries in two steps, before and after implementation of a tailor-made health plan. In muscle samples, the detected concentrations of doxycycline in the post-intervention step (15.9-70.8 µg/kg) were lower than concentrations in the pre-intervention step (20.6-100 µg/kg). In water samples, doxycycline in an average concentration of 119 µg/L in the pre- and 23.1 µg/L in the post-intervention step, as well as enrofloxacin at concentrations of 170 µg/L in the pre- and 1.72 µg/L in the post-intervention step were quantified. Amoxicillin was only present before intervention. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of the intervention actions. The concentrations of antibiotics in muscles and water were lower after implementation of a health plan on the farms.

The Combination of Serum and Oral Fluid Cortisol Levels and Welfare Quality Protocol® for Assessment of Pig Welfare on Intensive Farms

Animal welfare is important; therefore, veterinarians and other animal welfare experts try to use different tools for pig welfare assessment. Several welfare protocols are available for pig welfare assessment, and one of the most used is Welfare Quality (WQ) protocol®. Elevated values of cortisol can be indicative of stress and, therefore, poor welfare. Our aim was to assess the correlation between serum cortisol levels from individual samples and oral fluid cortisol levels in group samples with the grades received for pig welfare using the WQ protocol®. Samples were taken at six different commercial pig farms. Animals were divided into age-dependent categories: 5 weeks old (w/o); 7 w/o; 9 w/o; 11 w/o weaners; fatteners; and breeding sows (10 pigs/category). Cortisol was determined in individual sera and group samples of oral fluid (OF), and was compared to values considered to be physiological. Based on WQ protocol® answers, five farms’ welfare level was deemed acceptable, and one was enhanced. Four out of 29 sera and 5 out of 30 OF samples were considered physiological, while in most other samples it was elevated. The correlation between cortisol levels in sera, OF, and WQ protocol® scores was not statistically significant. The cortisol level in OF should be just one of the welfare indicators, i.e., alongside the WQ protocol® filled out by a welfare expert.

Machine learning algorithms can predict tail biting outbreaks in pigs using feeding behaviour records.

Tail biting is a damaging behaviour that impacts the welfare and health of pigs. Early detection of precursor signs of tail biting provides the opportunity to take preventive measures, thus avoiding the occurrence of the tail biting event. This study aimed to build a machine-learning algorithm for real-time detection of upcoming tail biting outbreaks, using feeding behaviour data recorded by an electronic feeder. Prediction capacities of seven machine learning algorithms (Generalized Linear Model with Stepwise Feature Selection, random forest, Support Vector Machines with Radial Basis Function Kernel, Bayesian Generalized Linear Model, Neural network, K-nearest neighbour, and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis) were evaluated from daily feeding data collected from 65 pens originating from two herds of grower-finisher pigs (25-100kg), in which 27 tail biting events occurred. Data were divided into training and testing data in two different ways, either by randomly splitting data into 75% (training set) and 25% (testing set), or by randomly selecting pens to constitute the testing set. In the first data splitting, the model is regularly updated with previous data from the pen, whereas in the second data splitting, the model tries to predict for a pen that it has never seen before. The K-nearest neighbour algorithm was able to predict 78% of the upcoming events with an accuracy of 96%, when predicting events in pens for which it had previous data. Our results indicate that machine learning models can be considered for implementation into automatic feeder systems for real-time prediction of tail biting events.

Enzymatic degradation of ochratoxin A in the gastrointestinal tract of piglets.

Animal feeds are often contaminated with ochratoxin A (OTA), a potent natural mycotoxin hazardous to animal and human health that accumulates in blood and tissues. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the in vivo application of an enzyme (OTA amidohydrolase; OAH) that degrades OTA into the nontoxic molecules phenylalanine and ochratoxin α (OTα) in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of pigs. Piglets were fed six experimental diets over 14 days, varying in OTA contamination level (50 or 500 μg/kg; OTA50 and OTA500) and presence of OAH; a negative control diet (no OTA added) and a diet containing OTα at 318 µg/kg (OTα318). The absorption of OTA and OTα into the systemic circulation (plasma and dried blood spots, DBS), their accumulation in kidney, liver, and muscle tissues, and excretion through feces and urine were assessed. The efficiency of OTA degradation in the digesta content of the GIT was also estimated. At the end of the trial, accumulation of OTA in blood was significantly higher in OTA groups (OTA50 and OTA500) in comparison to enzyme groups (OAH50 and OAH500, respectively). The supplementation of OAH explicitly reduced the absorption of OTA (P < 0.005) into plasma by 54% and 59% (from 40.53 ± 3.53 to 18.66 ± 2.28 ng/mL in piglets fed the 50 μg OTA/kg diets and from 413.50 ± 71.88 to 168.35 ± 41.02 ng/mL in piglets fed the 500 μg OTA/kg diets, respectively) and in DBS by 50% and 53% (from 22.79 ± 2.63 to 10.67 ± 1.93 ng/mL in piglets fed the 50 μg OTA/kg diets and from 232.85 ± 35.16 to 105.71 ± 24.18 ng/mL in piglets fed the 500 μg OTA/kg diets, respectively). The OTA concentrations in plasma were positively associated with the OTA levels detected in all tissues analyzed; adding OAH reduced OTA levels in the kidney, liver, and muscle (P < 0.005) by 52%, 67%, and 59%, respectively. The analysis of GIT digesta content showed that OAH supplementation led to OTA degradation in the proximal GIT where natural hydrolysis is inefficient. Overall, the data of present in vivo study demonstrated that supplementation of swine feeds with OAH successfully reduced OTA levels in blood (plasma and DBS) as well as in kidney, liver, and muscle tissues. Therefore, an approach to use enzymes as feed additives might be most promising to mitigate the harmful effects of OTA on the productivity and welfare of pigs and at the same time improving the safety of pig-derived food products.

Proposal for a Diagnostic Assessment of Animal Welfare in Pigs (Resolution 136 of 2020)

Proposal for a Diagnostic Assessment of Animal Welfare in Pigs (Resolution 136 of 2020)

Pig Health Abnormality Detection Based on Behavior Patterns in Activity Periods using Deep Learning

Abnormal detection of pig behaviors in pig farms is important for monitoring pig health and welfare. Pigs with health problems often have behavioral abnormalities. Observing pig behaviors can help detect pig health problems and take early treatment to prevent disease from spreading. This paper proposes a method using deep learning for automatically monitoring and detecting abnormalities in pig behaviors from cameras in pig farms based on pig behavior patterns comparison in activity periods. The approach consists of a pipeline of methods, including individual pig detection and localization, pig tracking, and behavioral abnormality analysis. From pig behaviors measured during the detection and tracking process, the behavior patterns of healthy pigs in different activity periods of the day, such as resting, eating, and playing periods, were built. Behavioral abnormalities can be detected if pigs behave differently from the normal patterns in the same activity period. The experiments showed that pig behavior patterns built in 30-minute time duration can help detect behavioral abnormalities with over 90% accuracy when applying the activity period-based approach.

Strategies to manage barn feed supply to prolong and hold late finishing pigs during a supply chain disruption.

The U.S. pork production system is sensitive to supply chain disruptions, including those that can create challenges of feed delivery and feed management during the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate feeding strategies during a prolonged feed availability shortage in group-housed finishing pigs and assess the impacts on pig performance. A total of 1,407 mixed-sex pigs (92 ± 11 kg BW) were randomly allocated to one of five treatments across 60 pens (N = 12 pens per treatment, 22 pigs per pen) and were blocked by initial body weight (BW) within the replicate, over a 21-d test period. Treatments were fed for 14 d (P1), and thereafter all pens returned to ad libitum access to a standard commercial diet for 7 d (P2). Treatments included: 1) Pens fed ad libitum (CON); 2) Pens fed at 1.45X ME maintenance requirement daily of CON diet (1.45X); 3) Pens fed 2X ME maintenance requirement daily of CON diet (2X); 4) Tightened feeders to the lowest setting, fed ad libitum of CON diet (CF); and 5) whole corn kernels, fed ad libitum (WC). P1 and P2 BW and feed disappearance were recorded to calculate ADG, ADFI, and G:F. Data were analyzed with pen as the experimental unit and least-squares means values reported by treatment. Compared to CON, pens fed 1.45X, 2X, CF, and WC treatments had significantly reduced P1 ADG (1.09 vs. 0.02, 0.34, 0.72, 0.41 kg/d, respectively), ADFI (3.21 vs. 1.42, 1.90, 2.49, 2.40 kg/d, respectively) and G:F (P < 0.05). During P2, ADG and G:F were increased (P < 0.05) compared to CON across all treatments. However, ADFI increased only in the 2X, CF, and WC diet from the CON (P < 0.05). Overall (days 0 to 21), all strategies attenuated BW, ADG, and ADFI (P < 0.01) compared to CON. However, G:F was only reduced (P < 0.01) in 1.45X and WC, but not 2X and CF (P > 0.05) compared to CON. In conclusion, all strategies explored could extend feed budgets. Even though these strategies were successful, increased BW variability was reported with more restrictive strategies. Further, adverse pig behaviors and welfare implications needs to be considered in adopting any restrictive feeding strategy.

A new S. suis serotype 3 infection model in pigs: lack of effect of buprenorphine treatment to reduce distress

BackgroundStreptoccocus suis (S. suis) is a major porcine pathogen causing meningitis, septicemia, arthritis and endocarditis. These diseases severely impair welfare of pigs. Experimental studies in pigs are important to better understand the pathogenesis and to identify protective antigens, as so far there is no vaccine available protecting against various serotypes (cps). Due to the severity of disease, application of appropriate refinement strategies in experimental S. suis infections is essential to reduce distress imposed on the piglets without jeopardizing the scientific output. The objectives of this study were to evaluate buprenorphine treatment as a refinement measure and serum cortisol levels as a distress read out parameter in a new S. suis cps3 infection model in pigs.ResultsIntravenous application of 2 × 108 CFU of S. suis cps3 (sly+, mrp+) to 6-week-old piglets led to severe morbidity in approximately 50% of the animals. Main pathological findings included suppurative meningoencephalitis and arthritis as well as fibrinosuppurative endocarditis. Buprenorphine treatment (0.05 mg/kg every 8 h) did not prevent signs of severe pain, high clinical scores, moderate to severe pathologies or high levels of serum cortisol in single severely affected piglets. Significant differences in the course of leukocytosis, induction of specific antibodies and bactericidal immunity were not recorded between groups with or w/o buprenorphine treatment. Of note, clinically unobtrusive piglets showed serum cortisol levels at 2 and 5 days post infectionem (dpi) comparable to the levels prior to infection with cps3. Cortisol levels in serum were significantly increased in piglets euthanized due to severe disease in comparison to clinically unobtrusive pigs.ConclusionsDifferent clinical courses and pathologies are induced after intravenous challenge of piglets with 2 × 108 CFU of this S. suis cps3 strain. The chosen protocol of buprenorphine application does not prevent severe distress in this infection model. Important parameters of the humoral immune response, such as the level of IgM binding to S. suis cps3, do not appear to be affected by buprenorphine treatment. Serum cortisol is a meaningful parameter to measure distress in piglets experimentally infected with S. suis and to evaluate refinement strategies. In this intravenous model, which includes close clinical monitoring and different humane endpoints, clinics and cortisol levels suggest convalescence in surviving piglets within 5 days following experimental infection.

Impact of Procedures and Human-Animal Interactions during Transport and Slaughter on Animal Welfare of Pigs: A Systematic Literature Review

Animal welfare is a high social and political priority and is enshrined in European and national legislation. This systematic literature review (funded by the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture; grant no. 2817806A18) was conducted to find animal and management-based indicators that could be influenced by changes in pig handling and management procedures on the day of slaughter and, therefore, will directly result in improved animal welfare. For this systematic literature review, following the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a structured literature search using the databases PubMed®, Web of ScienceTM, and LIVIVO with set search terms and their combinations in German and English. Only peer-reviewed original articles from European countries from 2009 until 2022 that dealt with welfare during transport and/or slaughter of fattening pigs and offered potential measurable indicators on the basis of the animal or management, and either directly or indirectly recommended handling practices were included. We used the literature management system EndNoteTM, and after duplicate removal, a total of 1099 records were found for further analysis. After analysis and discussion in the review team, which consisted of three experts in total, 105 articles underwent full-text screening. Finally, 39 articles were included in the results for this systematic literature review. According to this systematic literature review, the following procedures have a positive impact on the animal welfare of pigs on the day of slaughter. Calm-rather than rough-handling of pigs was the most influential factor. This can be achieved by using animal-friendly driving aids. Loud noise should be avoided in general or reduced as far as possible. Transport time is not always influenceable, but shorter transport duration with stocking density as stated by the European regulations as a maximum will reduce stress in pigs. Our review showed that there are differing scientific results about lairage duration, although this should be set in relation to prior stress and transport time. Knowledge of good stunning parameters, such as gas concentration, exposure time to the gas, recommended amperage, and current flow duration is essential. If electrical stunning is performed, the correct attachment of electrodes is crucial. The control of stunning effectiveness is extremely important to avoid suffering and pain, with the proviso that it is assessed on the basis of multiple parameters. The corneal reflex, regular gasping, and the up-righting reflex could be assessed together. Certificates of competence and continuing educational programmes for the personnel form the basis of animal-friendly handling and a stressless slaughter routine. It can be assumed that the results of this systematic literature review reflect the state of current research of pig welfare during transport and slaughter in the European Union, even though it must be assumed that not all relevant points were covered by the review, which can be seen as a limitation at the same time because important non-European or older publications could not be included.

Dietary fiber and its role in performance, welfare, and health of pigs.

Dietary fiber (DF) is receiving increasing attention, and its importance in pig nutrition is now acknowledged. Although DF for pigs was frowned upon for a long time because of reductions in energy intake and digestibility of other nutrients, it has become clear that feeding DF to pigs can affect their well-being and health. This review aims to summarize the state of knowledge of studies on DF in pigs, with an emphasis on the underlying mode of action, by considering research using DF in sows as well as suckling and weaned piglets, and fattening pigs. These studies indicate that DF can benefit the digestive tracts and the health of pigs, if certain conditions or restrictions are considered, such as concentration in the feed and fermentability. Besides the chemical composition and the impact on energy and nutrient digestibility, it is also necessary to evaluate the possible physical and physiologic effects on intestinal function and intestinal microbiota, to better understand the relation of DF to animal health and welfare. Future research should be designed to provide a better mechanistic understanding of the physiologic effects of DF in pigs.

Characterizing candidate decompression rates for hypobaric hypoxic stunning of pigs. Part 1: Reflexive behavior and physiological responses.

Alternatives to carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning for the commercial slaughter of pigs are urgently needed because there is robust evidence that exposing pigs to hypercapnic environments is associated with pain, fear, and distress. Hypobaric hypoxia (via gradual decompression, also known as Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning or LAPS) has been validated in poultry as a humane option, but its potential to improve the welfare of pigs at slaughter is unknown. We investigated the potential of hypobaric hypoxia to reliably elicit a non-recovery state in anesthetized weaner-grower pigs within a commercially viable timeframe. We determined the effect of candidate decompression rates (40, 60, 80, 100 ms-1, at two cycle durations 480 s and 720 s) on a range of physiological and reflexive behavioral indicators of hypoxia and death. We found that the decompression rates tested caused a 100% death rate. As expected, the decompression rate had overarching effects on behavioral and physiological markers of hypoxia and death, with faster decompression rates resulting in shorter latencies to cardiac arrest and cessation of breathing. We observed a higher proportion of pigs displaying repeated and prolonged whole-body movements (likely indicative of convulsive activity) at higher frequencies when we applied the slowest decompression rate (40 ms-1) compared to all other rates. Since these responses may impact the carcass and meat quality, the slower rate of decompression (40 ms-1) should be excluded as a candidate decompression rate. Furthermore, given the marginal effects of decompression rate on physiological indicators of death and reflexive behavioral parameters, we also recommend that the fastest rate tested (100 ms-1) is excluded in further study on conscious pigs (to prevent conscious animals from being exposed to unnecessary faster decompression rates which may compromise animal welfare). This work represents a necessary proof of principle step and confirms the potential of gradual decompression for stunning purposes in pigs. Importantly, however, the data presented provide no information on the welfare outcomes associated with decompression in conscious pigs. Subsequent work should focus on the comprehensive welfare assessment of intermediate decompression rates to determine the potential of hypobaric hypoxia to provide a humane stunning method for pigs.

Does the Implementation of an Animal Welfare Programme on a Farm Yield a Demonstrable Improvement in Fattening Pig Welfare?

In the course of social criticism of fattening pig farming, an animal welfare programme called "Initiative Animal Welfare" (ITW) was founded to increase animal welfare in pig farming in Germany. Furthermore, there is a legal obligation to record animal welfare parameters as a self-monitoring measure. The "German Association for Technology and Structures in Agriculture" published a guideline on the applicable animal welfare criteria. This guide formed the basis of this study's data collection. The aim was to apply the animal welfare parameters on farms by comparing the results between farms participating in ITW with those not participating. A cumulative score was calculated by evaluating the collected data. In addition, the relative risk was calculated in order to estimate the risk of finding a negative expression of a parameter. Our data show that ITW farms did not perform significantly better than the farms without ITW in terms of both the cumulative score and the relative risk. Overall, it must be considered that in both farm variants the occurrence of negative evaluations was very rare and the visited farms thus certainly can be considered to be well-managed farms. Climate parameters were recorded in each compartment and showed no significant differences in most cases.

Olfactory enrichment using a maternal pheromone improved post-weaning pig performance and behavior.

The post-weaning environment in commercial pig nursery buildings is typically devoid of both the sow and her semiochemicals. Among other factors, the loss of maternal odors may contribute to post-weaning stress. In this work, we report four studies (studies 1-4) using 192 weaned pigs to evaluate the effects of a maternal pheromone (MP) containing Myristic Acid and Skatole on weaned pig behavior and performance. Study 1 examined behavior among weaned pigs with a focus on lying, aggression and feeding behaviors. All studies used body weight gain and the percentage of pigs that lost weight the first 7 days after weaning as key response variables. The MP stimulated early feeding behavior and reduced aggressive behaviors among weaned pigs (p < 0.01). In study one, pigs were over 4 kg heavier 16 weeks post-weaning when the MP was present for 48 h post-weaning compared to control pigs (p = 0.05). The three other studies used a 7-days bioassay to assess the best dose and form of delivery of the MP among weaned pigs. The single measure that responded uniformly was the percentage of pigs that lost body weight in the first 7 days after weaning. Among control pigs in four separate studies, 25% of the weaned pigs in each study lost body weight by 7 days after weaning, while in 3 of the 4 bioassay studies, 0% of MP-exposed pigs lost weight after weaning (one study had 6% of pigs losing body weight with the MP). This MP effect is both highly statistically significant and, if found on commercial farms, would have a large positive economic benefit. Simultaneously, having fewer pigs losing weight and exhibiting less aggressive behavior will improve the health and welfare of weaned pigs. Providing biologically-relevant olfactory enrichment can improve pig health and welfare.

Consumer Preferences for Animal Welfare in China: Optimization of Pork Production-Marketing Chains.

Consumption demands for pork produced by farms that employ strategies to improve animal welfare ("animal welfare pork") will be an important indicator for predicting domestic pig feeding standards and pork industry development. This paper analyzes consumer preferences for animal welfare pork based on the choice experiment data of 1274 pork consumers in Guangdong province, China. The results show that consumers had a significant preference for animal welfare pork and that they were willing to pay a premium of 2.359-10.477 CNY/500 g (5.27-23.39%) on average. There is heterogeneity in consumer preferences regarding age, education level, and income. Producers of animal-derived products can not only adjust the mix of production conditions to improve pig welfare and innovate contractual arrangements for industry chain stakeholder groups, but they can also develop differentiated marketing strategies for animal welfare products to meet consumer demands for animal welfare.

Mortality during Transport of Pigs Subjected to Long Journeys: A Study in a Large European Abattoir.

To date, especially in Europe, few studies have analysed the implications of long journeys on pig welfare and economic losses, expressed in terms of transport mortality. This study retrospectively analysed data collected from slaughtering registers and travel journals in a large Italian abattoir. We focused on pig transports coming from abroad and arriving at the slaughter plant after long journeys (a total of 59,982 pigs over 370 journeys). We explored the relationship between mortality and the following variables: country of origin, journey duration, astronomical season, stocking density on the truck, number of stops, and prolonged stops during the journey (lasting more than 60 min, likely due to traffic jams or truck problems). Overall, the low mortality rate observed (0.09%) was in line with European estimates. The factors with a significant or tendential effect on mortality during transport were the astronomical season (p = 0.0472, with higher mortality in spring) and the presence of prolonged stops during the journey (p = 0.069, tendential effect). Journey duration, stocking density, country of origin, and the number of stops were not statistically significant. In conclusion, based on this case study, using transport mortality combined with data collected during the common routine activity by the Public Veterinary Services in slaughterhouses could be a simple screening method for identifying problematic journeys or transport conditions.

Discrepancies between farmers' perceptions and actual animal welfare conditions on commercial pig farms

Animal welfare is a multiparameteral concept that encompasses the physical and mental health of animals and includes various aspects such as physical wellbeing, absence of hunger and thirst, and ability to express motivated behavior, to which farmers usually attach different importance. The objectives of this study were to evaluate animal welfare on Slovenian commercial pig farms, to determine whether farmers' perceived importance of animal welfare differ from actual animal welfare on farms and to determine, if farmer's age, gender, their level of education and participation in vocational training have an influence. For that purpose, we created an Animal Welfare Protocol/Questionnaire for Pig Farms (AWQ/P-P) that assessed several parameters of animal welfare: (1) general status, (2) animal behavior, (3) health status, (4) living conditions, and (5) environmental conditions. Each parameter included at least five observation points and was scored on a 5-point scale. The same observation points were used to measure farmers' perceived importance of animal welfare and for observational assessment. Consequently, we were able to compare both statistically. Farmers from 14 (N = 14) large Slovenian pig farms participated in the study. Results show that farmers rate all parameters of animal welfare very highly. For them, animal health status is the most important, and environmental conditions are the least important factors for animal welfare. Observational inspections yielded significantly lower scores for animal welfare conditions than those obtained from farmer ratings. The highest correlations between farmers' perceptions and observational inspections were found for the parameters of animal behavior and environmental conditions. The results of this study also suggest that vocational training is a significant variable in increasing levels of pig welfare. Age, gender, and education level are not significant variables, however, farms led by older male farmers with lower level of education but involved in vocational training from different sources had slightly better welfare on the farm. This should be further investigated before making conclusions, due to our small sample size. The significance of the study is to identify deficiencies in pig welfare as perceived by farmers and consequently improve pig welfare.

Coinfections of African swine fever virus, porcine circovirus 2 and 3, and porcine parvovirus 1 in swine in Nigeria.

As pig production increases in Africa, it is essential to identify the pathogens that are circulating in the swine population to assess pig welfare and implement targeted control measures. For this reason, DNA samples collected from pigs in Nigeria in the context of African swine fever monitoring were further screened by PCR for porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2), porcine circovirus 3 (PCV-3), and porcine parvovirus 1 (PPV1). Forty-seven (45%) pigs were positive for two or more pathogens. Sequence analysis identified PCV-2 genotypes a, b, and d, while limited genetic heterogenicity was observed among PCV-3 strains. All except one of the PPV1 sequences were genetically distinct from those previously identified in other countries.

207 Awardee Talk: The Impact of Disease on Nutrient and Energy Intake and Utilization to Support Lean Tissue Accretion in Growing Pigs

Abstract Optimal lean tissue production can be severely compromised by health challenges in nursery-finisher pig production systems. Common pig immune challenges in the U.S. can come from pathogens such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus, Lawsonia intracellularis, Mycoplasma spp, Coccidia, pathogenic E. coli and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus. The subsequent disease that can manifests in response to these pathogens can lead to mitochondrial damage, impaired capacity to generate sufficient ATP for homeostasis, limited energy availability (exacerbated by disease hypophagia) and compromised cell survival and organ function. Collectively, skeletal muscle hypertrophy is reduced in a trade off to support the energetic and protein synthesis needs of immune system response. In growing pigs, we have reported that sub-clinical and clinical enteric and respiratory disease can significantly impact intestinal function, feed intake, lean tissue accretion and feed efficiency. This has a major economic impact for pork producers, pig welfare and wellbeing. While significant advances in molecular and quantitative genetics, clinical diagnostics and virology have been made to enhance poor performance and heath, we are still unsure on how to best feed and manage poor-health pigs. By understanding the longitudinal impact pathogens on digestibility, metabolism, protein accretion and feed efficiency, insights into nutritional requirements and management strategies can be developed to improve poor-health pig production. This paper will discuss the molecular and physiological impact of sub-clinical and clinical disease on nutrient and energy intake and utilization to support lean tissue accretion in growing pigs.

Waiting for markets to change me-High-stakeholders' views of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in pig production in Brazil.

Overuse of veterinary antibiotics is a risk factor for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is a global public health emergency. More than 70% of the antibiotics consumed worldwide are used in farm animals, mainly in poultry and pig herds. Brazil is the fourth largest pork producer globally and the second-largest user of antibiotics in animals. Qualitative research can help understand the complexities around antibiotic use (AMU) in Brazilian pig herds and identify stakeholders' attitudes concerning the rational AMU and AMR in the production chain. This study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitudes of high-level professionals in the animal production chain about AMU and AMR in pig farming, the relationship with pig welfare and AMU in Brazil. We conducted 32 in-depth interviews with individuals active in the pig industry. The majority of the participants considered AMU excessive and inappropriate in pig farms in Brazil. However, attitudes toward a restrictive AMU scenario in Brazilian pig farms were predominantly negative, justified by economic, sanitary and social barriers. These included unsatisfactory management and biosecurity conditions in pig farms that, in their opinion, justify AMU to prevent diseases; issues surrounding prescription and acquisition of veterinary drugs; and employment and income relationships arising from the sale of antibiotics. The views of high-level professionals in the Brazilian livestock chain reveal antibiotics as a structural element that enables pig production. Antibiotics were viewed as essential resources for producing cheap food. Foreign markets were considered the most relevant driver of change in AMU practices rather than pressure from Brazilian consumers. A common belief expressed was that AMR is more associated with the inappropriate AMU in human medicine than in the livestock sector. Resistance to change in these stakeholders may hinder the implementation of future public policies to restrict the use of antibiotics in Brazil. Our findings suggest that successful measures to deal with the AMU/AMR challenges in the pig chain shall not be rooted in personal behavior change. Instead, honest interdisciplinary dialogues and structural changes are needed to define common grounds and a way forward to break the cycle perpetuating antibiotics as structural commodities.