The objective of the present study is to assess the variability of the measures used in the welfare quality (WQ) protocol for pigs among slaughterhouses in five different countries and to propose alarm and critical thresholds ...

In this study, we addressed the social attentiveness, as well as the phenomenon of social facilitation and inhibition in the context of a positive human–pig relationship. Specifically, we investigated whether the social ...

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between ear, tail, and skinlesions, hernias, bursitis, and rectal prolapses at the abattoir and meat inspection out-comes in slaughter pigs, including carcass condemnations ...

The culling of injured and non-viable pigs (Sus scrofa) (neonate to breeding stock) is a routine and necessary procedure on most farms. Usually, pigs are culled using one of the following methods: blunt-force trauma (manual ...

The increasing of global demand for food has required more efficiency in the production process. Transportation represents a source of body dehydration for pigs transported from farm to slaughterhouses. This study aimed ...

The human-animal relationship is an important component of farm animal welfare. Previous studies have shown that allowing animals to observe the gentle handling of a conspecific reduces fear and increases their affinity ...

Pig houses provide a highly aggressive environment to concrete structures. The chemical aggressiveness generated by pig manure may cause wear, loss in strength and premature damage to floors, leading to animal hoof diseases. ...

It is known that tactile stimulation (TS) during ontogeny modifies brain plasticity and enhances the motor and cognitive skills. Our hypothesis was that early handling including TS would increase play and exploratory ...

This study aimed to assess the effects of environmental enrichment for pigs during transportation in different phases of their productive cycle. Two trials were conducted, the first during transportation of pigs from the ...