Husbandry interventions in suckling piglets, painful consequences and mitigation
Citation
Prunier A., Devillers N., Herskin M.S., Sandercock D.A., Sinclair A.R.L., Tallet C., von Borell E. 2020. Husbandry interventions in suckling piglets, painful consequences and mitigation. In: The suckling and weaning piglet (Farmer C., Ed.), Wageningen Academic Publishers (Wagneningen, The Netherlands), pp. 107-138. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-894-0_4
Plain language summary
During their first days of postnatal life, piglets reared for meat production are often
subjected to numerous husbandry practices that cause injury of sensitive tissues and
hence are potential sources of pain. The intensity and duration of the pain engendered
depend on the nature and magnitude of tissue damage. Each of these practices is carried
out for specific reasons, such as preventing boar taint (castration), reducing the risk of
tail biting (tail docking), limiting lesions on siblings and the sow’s teats (tooth resection),
improving health (injections) or identifying animals (ear tagging or notching). This
chapter will discuss the rationale and methods used, the evidence of pain during and
shortly after the procedure, the long-term pain consequences, the consequences for
health and human-animal relationships, the current options for pain mitigation and the
pros and cons of avoiding these practices completely. Solutions are emerging to minimise
the industry’s dependence on these practices and, when still considered necessary, to
enable selection of the least painful option and best mitigate any residual pain. A better
knowledge of the affective component of the pain involved in the practices as well as the
establishment of standard and validated protocols of pain evaluation are needed in order
to move forward and determine the best solutions from an animal welfare perspective
and feasibility by farmers.
Abstract
During their first days of postnatal life, piglets reared for meat production are often
subjected to numerous husbandry practices that cause injury of sensitive tissues and
hence are potential sources of pain. The intensity and duration of the pain engendered
depend on the nature and magnitude of tissue damage. Each of these practices is carried
out for specific reasons, such as preventing boar taint (castration), reducing the risk of
tail biting (tail docking), limiting lesions on siblings and the sow’s teats (tooth resection),
improving health (injections) or identifying animals (ear tagging or notching). This
chapter will discuss the rationale and methods used, the evidence of pain during and
shortly after the procedure, the long-term pain consequences, the consequences for
health and human-animal relationships, the current options for pain mitigation and the
pros and cons of avoiding these practices completely. Solutions are emerging to minimise
the industry’s dependence on these practices and, when still considered necessary, to
enable selection of the least painful option and best mitigate any residual pain. A better
knowledge of the affective component of the pain involved in the practices as well as the
establishment of standard and validated protocols of pain evaluation are needed in order
to move forward and determine the best solutions from an animal welfare perspective
and feasibility by farmers.