Sammanfattning

When a fattening pig is ready for the market and shall be delivered to the abattoir, it will be moved from its pen to the lorry and transported to the slaughterhouse. The farmer is responsible for the handling of the pigs in the pig barn. The handling should be as careful as possible. The loading and transportation are the responsibility of the transporter. As a result of the general concioussness of animal welfare in the society, the abbatoires are working towards a good care of the animals from the farmer to the abattoir. The aim for this thesis is to investigate how and which factors are influencing stress in the animals and how the humans are influencing the situation in order to minimize pig stress and improve animal welfare when fatteners are handled and loaded. The project was initiated by Slakteriförbundet as a part of their program to improve animal welfare. The programme is one part of the quality system for the production of fattening pigs. In this thesis, the research was made in order to improve the animal care and the handling connected with the delivery of fattening pigs to the slaughterhouse. The research is a part of the animal care programme which Slakteriförbundet have started. The work includes a literature review and a research. The literature review includes animal stress in connection with loading and the natural behaviour of the pig. Stress occurs when the pig is unable to predict what is going to happen and is unable to control the new situation. The pig can also experience stress when getting in close contact with a human being. The goal is to get a calm and unstressed animal to handle and to load. The research is based on interviews with 11 farmers and 5 transporters in Uppland, Västergötland and Skåne. The farms were visited at two occations, one in connection with the loading on the lorry and the other at the interview with the farmer. The questions at the interviews covered the handling of the pigs, the handling facilities on the farm and precautions against spreading of infections. In addition observations was made by the author. The results of the research includes an analysis of the handling on the farms and recommendations to the farmer what can be improved during loading. The research has given the following conclusions: • If the pigs have experienced a good treatment by humans they will become easier to handle. Animals who have been weighed and who have been in close contact with humans were no easier to handle than animals on which a scanner had been used. The conclusion is that the animals find the weighing process unplesant. • The selection of pigs in the pen is easier in pens with the feed troughs alongside, than in pens with the troughs at a right angle to the pen. The pigs were calmer when the farmer made the selection from the pen than when an employee made the selection. • The moving of the animals from the pen to the lorry is working best when the animals are allowed to move in their own speed. If the animals are forced advance they may feel stressed and want to stop. The passages in which the pigs are to be moved should have tight walls. If the pigs are able to see what is behind the plates they want to stop. • The loading process is working best if the floors of the lorry and the stable are at the same level. The best way of loading the animals is from the wide backbridge of the lorry. The pigs prefer to be moved in groups with other animals around them. • The risk of transmitting infections between the lorry and the stable is minimized if the animals are passing through an airlock. The airlock should not have a door open to the stable at the same time as a door is open into the loading room. The transporter should never enter the stable, but stay in the loading room. The farmer and the transporter are in two separated zones. • Good animal care and good animal health is quite obvious to most of the farmers today. Together with the transporter the farmer can plan as good a loading as possible.

Nyckelord

transporter; djurvälfärd; grisar; svin; lastning

Publicerad i

Rapport - Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Institutionen för lantbruksteknik
1995,
Utgivare: Institutionen för lantbruksteknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/125564