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Bulletin No. 22 - Summer 2005
MiscelleanousWelfare
RAMIS G, GOMEZ S, PALLARES FJ, MUNOS A
Comparison of the severity of esophagogastric, lung and limb lesions at slaughter in pigs reared under standard and enriched conditions.
Animal Welfare, 2005, Volume 14, N°1, 27-34
Two types of environments were compared with regards to production parameters (mortality, feed conversion rate, average daily weight gain) and severity of macroscopic and microscopic lesions at slaughter. In the standard environment, pigs were raised in small 15-animal pens in a conventional barn with partially slatted floors and natural ventilation. In the enriched environment, pigs were raised in large open-front sawdust-bedded barns. Pigs from both environments were fed the same pelleted feed. A significantly higher number of esophagogastric lesions was observed in the standard group and while 17.5% of pigs of the standard group presented stomach ulcers at slaughter, none of pigs from the enriched group did suggesting that esophagogastric ulcers could be used as a reliable indicator of welfare in pigs. The difference regarding limb lesions was also remarkable between the groups: 23.84% in the standard group versus 1.08% in the enriched group. In addition, a clear positive influence of the improved housing conditions was observed on production parameters indicating that performance of fattening pigs can be improved through a higher level of welfare.
