Wilhelmsson, Sofia
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Fear is a motivational state aroused by certain specific stimuli that gives rise to avoidance, immobility, threat, defence and attack, depending on the species and the intensity of the fear-provoking stimulus. Pigs that are fearful of people normally show avoidance of people and are therefore generally more difficult to handle. Fearful pigs will also have lower productivity on a variety of production parameters, such as weight gain, reproductive performance and meat quality, and lower pig welfare. Many studies have shown that pigs develop conditioned avoidance or approach responses depending on how they are treated by stock people. Examples of aversive negative treatments are slaps, kicks or shocks with electric prodders; examples of positive interactions are talking, pats, strokes or resting a hand on the back of the animal. Pigs that are handled in a negative manner often fear all humans, but there are some situations in which they can discriminate between aversive and positive handlers. The attitude of the stockperson is very important and it is highly recommended that stock people are trained about pig behaviour and handling to ensure positive attitudes towards handling and care of their pigs. Other subjects covered in this chapter are exploratory behaviour, learning, the effects of environmental enrichment on pig handling and the behavioural principles of pig handling.
Keywords
Exploration; Fear; Handling; Pigs; Stockmanship; Training; Welfare
Published in
Title: Livestock Handling and Transport
Publisher: CABI International
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800625136.0016
- ISBN: 9781800625112
- eISBN: 9781800625129
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/142762