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The effects of enrichment on welfare, production and meat quality of the pig

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

V.E. Beattie ,
N. Walker ,
L.J. Farmer  and
I.A. Sneddont
V.E. Beattie
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR
N. Walker
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR
L.J. Farmer
Affiliation:
DANI, Newforge Lane, Belfast, BT9 5PX
I.A. Sneddont
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT7 INN
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Extract

Enriching the housing of growing pigs by creating an environment which is responsive can stimulate behaviour patterns similar to that of pigs in semi-natural conditions (Beattie 1994, Simonsen 1990). These changes in behaviour in conjunction with the absence of tail-biting and ear chewing in enriched environments (Beattie, Sneddon & Walker 1993) are indicators of improved welfare (Signoret 1983).

This study investigated the effect of enrichment on welfare, production performance and eating quality of the resultant pork. Welfare was assessed using behavioural measures.

Type
Pig Welfare & Ruminant Welfare
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1995 , March 1995 , pp. 193
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1995

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References

Beattie, V.E. 1994. The Effects of Environmental Enrichment on the Domestic Pig. PhD Thesis, The Queen's University of Belfast.Google Scholar
Beattie, V.E., Sneddon, I.A. & Walker, N. 1993. Behaviour and productivity of the domestic pig in barren and enriched environments. Livestock Environment IV, 43– 50. A.S.A.E. St Joseph, Michigan Google Scholar
Signoret, J.P. 1983. General conclusions. In Smidt, D. (Ed.) Indicators Relevant to Farm Animal Welfare 245– 247. Martinus, Nijhoff.10.1007/978-94-009-6738-0_33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonsen, H.B. 1990 Behaviour and distribution of fattening pigs in the multi-activity pen. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 27, 311– 324.10.1016/0168-1591(90)90127-YCrossRefGoogle Scholar