Tradeoffs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable

Farming externalities are believed to co-vary negatively, yet trade-offs have rarely been quantified systematically. Here we present data from UK and Brazilian pig production systems representative of most commercial systems across the world ranging from ‘intensive’ indoor systems through to extensive free range, Organic and woodland systems to explore co-variation among four major externality costs. We found that no specific farming type was consistently associated with good performance across all domains. Generally, systems with low land use have low greenhouse gas emissions but high antimicrobial use and poor animal welfare, and vice versa. Some individual systems performed well in all domains but were not exclusive to any particular type of farming system. Our findings suggest that trade-offs may be avoidable if mitigation focuses on lowering impacts within system types rather than simply changing types of farming

Females with insured welfare mitigate the negative impact of male pre- copulation stress on offspring

Os sistemas suinícolas atuais, aliados aos programas de melhoramento genético avançados, trouxeram inúmeros ganhos produtivos e sanitários para a indústria. O repertório comportamental natural da espécie, importante para manter o bem-estar dos animais, é raramente priorizado nos sistemas de produção comercial de suínos. Em consequência disso, comportamentos anormais, alterações fisiológicas e emocionais, e indicadores de bem-estar comprometido são frequentemente observados. Esses comportamentos são uma tentativa dos animais de adaptação ao meio onde estão inseridos, e os sistemas emocionais 'básicos' dos animais têm funções adaptativas e fundamentais para o indivíduo. O alojamento de machos reprodutores suínos desafia o bem-estar dos mesmos pela restrição de movimento, isolamento social e falta de enriquecimento ambiental. Estudos recentes em animais de laboratório indicam que situações de estresse nos machos podem alterar características no sêmen e alterar as características da prole. O objetivo da pesquisa foi estudar o efeito do sistema de alojamento de machos suínos sobre a emocionalidade da sua prole. Foram utilizados 18 machos alojados em três sistemas: cela (C:N=6), baia (B:N=6) e baia enriquecida com o fornecimento de feno, escovação, banho (E:N=6). Submetidos à colheita de sêmen semanalmente. Na quarta semana, três pools de sêmen, cada pool representando todos os três tratamentos, com dois machos de cada tratamento (C, B e E), selecionados de acordo com métodos objetivos de avaliação do sêmen, foram utilizados para inseminar 15 marrãs alojadas em grupo no sistema ao ar livre. Foram realizadas avalições comportamentais e fisiológicas a cada terço gestacional. Os leitões foram identificados no terceiro dia de idade e seus pesos registrados aos 10°, 25° e 29° dias de idade. No 25° dia, foram realizadas as avaliações emocionais dos leitões (medo e ansiedade) (N=138) através do comportamento gravado durante os testes de campo aberto, objeto novo e labirinto em cruz elevada. No 29° dia, os leitões foram desmamados (N=138) e reagrupados por peso em três baias com feno. Imagens corporais dos leitões (N=138) foram registradas no desmame e nos quatro dias subsequentes para contabilizar as lesões de pele. No 34° dia, eles foram submetidos à avaliação nociceptiva, estimulados duas vezes consecutivas do lado direito e esquerdo da região coxofemoral e quartela. Após, amostras de pelo foram colhidas para realização do teste de paternidade. Após o recebimento dos dados de paternidade, os leitões foram alocados nos tratamentos representando o alojamento dos pais (C, B e E). Os dados comportamentais das fêmeas foram avaliados com estatística descritiva. Na análise dos dados da prole utilizou-se a análise fatorial com o intuito de resumir em quatro fatores latentes a informação relativa à variabilidade e correlações entre as variáveis. Os escores fatoriais foram classificados como negativos, centrais e positivos, com base no primeiro e terceiro quartis. O teste de qui quadrado (alfa=0,05) foi usado para testar a homogeneidade da distribuição desses escores nos três tratamentos a que os machos foram submetidos. Uma análise de correspondência buscou associações entre as frequências de leitões nos tratamentos e categorias dos escores fatoriais. Os resultados da prole indicam a influência do ambiente herdado através dos machos; os leitões filhos de machos alojados com acesso ao enriquecimento tiveram menor número de lesões de pele (p=0,008). Leitões oriundos de machos alojados em celas apresentaram valores nociceptivos mais hipoalgésicos, em contrapartida, a prole de machos alojados nas baias sem enriquecimento foram menos hipoalgésicos (p=0,029). Compreender o mecanismo de ação de tais alterações requer futuras pesquisas associando os princípios da epigenética e sua interação na construção do comportamento animal.Current pig production systems, combined with advanced genetic improvement programs, have brought numerous productive and health gains to the industry. However, the species\' natural behavioral repertoire, which is important for maintaining good animal welfare, is rarely prioritized in commercial pig production systems. As a result, abnormal behaviors, physiological and emotional changes, all indicators of impaired welfare, are often observed. These behaviors are an attempt by animals to adapt to the environment in which they live, and the 'basic' emotional systems of animals have adaptive and fundamental functions for the individual. The housing of boars challenges their welfare as a result of movement restriction, social isolation and lack of environmental enrichment. Recent studies in laboratory animals indicate that stressful situations in males can alter characteristics in the semen and change the phenotype of their offspring. Eighteen males housed in three systems were studied: crate (C:N=6), pen (P:N=6), and enriched pen, which included the supply of hay, brushing and bathing (E:N=6). Animals were submitted to semen collection weekly. In the fourth week, three pools of semen, each pool representing two males per treatment (C, P and E), matched for objective semen quality indicators, from the animals of the three treatments was used to inseminate 15 gilts, five gilts for each different pool. Gilts were housed in group in an outdoor system. Behavioral and physiological evaluations were carried out at each third of gestation. The piglets, offspring of 13 gilts, were identified on the third day of age and their weights recorded at the 10th, 25th, and 29th days of age. On the 25th day, the piglets\' emotional assessments (fear and anxiety) were carried out through the behavior recorded during the tests open field, novel object, and elevated plus maze (N=138). On the 29th day, the piglets were weaned and regrouped by weight in three pens with hay. Body images of the piglets (N=138) were recorded at weaning and in the subsequent four days to account for skin lesions (N=138). On the 34th day, they were submitted to a nociceptive evaluation, stimulated twice in a row on the right and left side of the plantar surface of the metacarpal and hip region. Afterward, hair samples were taken to perform the paternity test. After receiving the results of the paternity tests, the piglets were allocated to the experimental groups representing the treatments applied to the boars (C, P and E). The behavioral data of the females were evaluated for descriptive statistical. In the analysis of the offspring data, factor analysis was used to summarize the information regarding the variability and correlations between the variables in four latent factors. The factor scores were classified as negative, central, and positive, based on the first and third quartiles. The chi-square test (alpha=0.05) was used to test the homogeneity of the distribution of these scores in the three treatments to which the males were submitted. A correspondence analysis sought associations between the frequencies of piglets in the treatments and categories of factor scores. The offspring results indicate the influence of the environment inherited through males; piglets born to males housed with access to enrichment had fewer skin lesions (p=0.008). Piglets from males housed in cells showed nociceptive values more hypoalgesic, in contrast, the offspring of males housed in pens without enrichment were less hypoalgesic (p=0.029). Understanding the mechanism of action of such changes requires further research associating the principles of epigenetics and their interaction in the construction of animal behavior

Cachaços expostos a ambientes de alojamento contrastantes e as consequências para o bem-estar de seus filhotes

Boars in commercial environments or experience poor welfare due to restricted movement, social isolation, and exposure to minimal environmental stimuli. Stressful factors in males cause changes in semen quality and can influence how genetic information is transferred to the offspring. This study hypothesizes that the boars environment alters the offspring′s epigenome and modulates their subsequent development. The project aims to evaluate the possible intergenerational effects of male pigs exposed to different housing conditions on the development of their offspring. Three environmental conditions were used to individually house 18 boars: crates (C), pens (P), and enriched pens (E) (n=6/treatment). Semen pooled from boars representing all three treatment groups was used to inseminate outdoor-housed gilts. Behavioral and salivary cortisol data were collected during the gestation period. After farrowing, piglets were identified with ear tags. Piglet mortality rate and weight were recorded, and behavior and vocalizations were evaluated during three emotional tests (open field, novel object, and elevated plus maze). At 29 days of age, piglets were weaned, and skin lesions and nociceptive threshold were assessed. Saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol before and after the open field/novel object test and weaning. Hair samples from boars and piglets were used for a paternity test. At 70 days after birth, only male piglets were slaughtered, and their brains were extracted and frozen. The piglet′s pre-frontal cortex tissue was macerated, and the glucocorticoids were extracted and measured, using EIA. Appropriate statistical methods were used for each type of data (p<0.05). The results revealed that females with higher social status have heavier piglets. Additionally, results showed that more piglets fathered by boars housed in E compared to P were born alive and survived to weaning. The offspring from boars in P showed higher mean nociceptive values compared to boars in C. Furthermore, behavioral testing yielded a significant difference as C sired piglets exhibited less activity/fear compared to E. However, C sired piglets showed higher amounts of anxiety and inactivity away from an object/exploration compared to piglets from P. The ratio of salivary cortisol in piglets born to E boars was higher than in piglets born to either P or C boars. In comparison to piglets from P and E males, piglets born from C males emitted more longer duration, higher low frequency vocalizations, indicating a more aversive experience during the tests. There was no difference in glucocorticoids in brain tissue. The environment where boars are housed contributes to phenotypic changes in their descendants. Therefore, enhancing parental welfare can improve offspring′s resilience and welfare too.Os cachaços em ambientes comerciais são frequentemente alojados em ambientes desafiadores, com estímulos mínimos e sujeitos a movimento restrito e isolamento social. Fatores estressantes causam alterações na qualidade do sêmen e podem influenciar como a informação genética é transferida para a prole. Este estudo levanta a hipótese de que o ambiente dos cachaços altera o epigenoma da prole e modula seu desenvolvimento subsequente. O projeto visa avaliar os possíveis efeitos intergeracionais de suínos machos expostos a diferentes condições de alojamento no desenvolvimento de sua prole. Três condições ambientais foram usadas para alojar individualmente 18 cachaços: celas (C), baias (P) e baias enriquecidas (E) (n=6/tratamento). Sêmen coletado de cachaços representando todos os três tratamentos foi usado para inseminar marrãs alojadas ao ar livre. Dados comportamentais e de cortisol salivar formam coletados durante os terços gestacionais. Após o parto, os leitões foram identificados e dados produtivos (mortalidade e peso), de comportamentos (testes emocionais) e fisiológicos (cortisol salivar), foram coletados durante a maternidade. Aos 29 dias de idade, os leitões foram desmamados, lesões cutâneas e o limiar nociceptivo foram avaliados. Amostras de cerdas de cachaços e leitões foram usadas para o teste de paternidade. Aos 70 dias de idade os leitões machos foram abatidos. Os cérebros foram coletados e glicocorticoides do córtex pré-frontal foram mensurados usando EIA. Abordagem estatística foi realizada para cada dado coletado considerando nível de significância de p<0.05. Os resultados revelaram que fêmeas com maior status social tem leitões mais pesados. Também, nasceram mais leitões vivos e desmamados E<P. Os leitões gerados por cachaços P apresentaram valores nociceptivos médios mais elevados em comparação aos C. Todos os tratamentos diferiram na região adjacente à cauda para a pressão nociceptiva. Além disso, os leitões C exibiram menos atividade/medo em comparação leitões E, nos testes comportamentais. No entanto, leitões C mostraram maiores níveis de ansiedade e inatividade longe de um objeto/exploração em comparação com leitões P. A razão (antes/depois do teste) de concentração de cortisol salivar em leitões E foi maior do que em leitões C e P. A duração, baixa frequência das vocalizações mostraram que leitões nascidos de machos C apresentaram valores mais elevados, indicando uma experiência mais aversiva durante os testes quando comparados aos leitões de machos P e E. Não houve diferença nos glicocorticoides do tecido cerebral. O ambiente onde os cachaços são alojados contribui para mudanças fenotípicas em seus descendentes. Portanto, aumentar o bem-estar dos pais também pode melhorar a resiliência e o bem-estar dos filhos

Lameness in sows during pregnancy impacts welfare outcomes in their offspring

Lameness in sows is a painful and common condition, affecting between 30- 60% of sows, according to recent data. The stress and the pain experienced by lame sows causes unfavorable scenarios not only for pregnant animals, but also for their offspring, possibly due to glucocorticoid-mediated effects on fetal programming. The objectives of this study are to assess the behavioral, emotional and physiological effects of sow lameness in their offspring. This study was carried out in a Brazilian commercial pig farm, studying sows and piglets, with follow up experiments performed, with the same piglets, at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The protocol was reviewed by the Ethics and Animal Use Committee (protocol number 9870211117). Gait score was assessed in 582 pregnant sows, every 15 days, over a period of 4 months, using a validated scoring system (0 to 5, being 0 a sow without lameness and 5 a sow with severe lameness). Out of the 582 sows, 30 animals, 15 sows without lameness (group A: score 0 or 1) and 15 sows with lameness (group B: score 3 to 5), were selected, for the follow up study monitoring their offspring. From each of these sows, three piglets were studied (90 piglets in total). Piglets were weaned at 28 days, transported to the University Campus, housed in pens with 9 individuals, divided in groups by sex, weight and lameness score of their mother (A or B). The following data were obtained from the piglets: body photographs to count skin lesions (three days); behavior in the open field and novel object tests were performed three days after weaning, and nociception measures were taken with an electronic von Frey aesthesiometer in four body parts: left and right plantar pad (LPP and RPP); and left and right leg (LL and RL). Data were analyzed using t-test or the Wilcoxon test at a significance level of 0.05 in the programming language R. 91.41% of the 582 sows had at least one event of lameness, 37.46% were classified as Group A, and 62.54% scored as group B. Sows with lameness had fewer days of pregnancy than sows without lameness (P<0.0005), 115 and 116 days respectively. Piglets from lame sows vocalized more than piglets from sows without lameness when they were subjected to the novel object test. Piglets from lame sows responded numerically to higher pressures in all body parts in the nociception test than piglets born from sows without lameness. This was confirmed by the means values: group A-LPP=893.44 g; group B-LPP=1,007.26 g; group A-RPP=916.28 g; group B-RPP=997.11 g; group A-LL=896.35 g; group B-LL=981.99 g; group A-RL=961.58 g; group B-RL=974.12 g; (P>0.05). Lameness appeared to modify the nociceptive threshold of the offspring, suggesting an increase in pain tolerance of piglets from lame sows. Additionally, lameness in sows decreased pregnancy length. The results confirm the impact of lameness in altering behavior and welfare outcomes in piglets

Tradeoffs and co-benefits in the sustainability of pork production

Livestock production generates substantial impacts. Despite a widespread perception that different externalities of farming systems typically co-vary negatively, such tradeoffs have rarely been quantified systematically. We collected data from diverse UK and Brazilian pig systems representative of most commercial systems across the world to explore, for the first time, the co-variation among four major externality costs simultaneously: land use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, antimicrobial use (AMU) and animal welfare. We find both positive associations and tradeoffs: generally, systems with low land use have low GHGs, but high AMU and poor welfare, and vice versa. Despite these overall associations, some individual systems perform well in all domains. These systems show that tradeoffs, commonly perceived to be inevitable, are in fact not. These promising systems are not limited to a particular type of farming (e.g., label or husbandry type). However, no farming type was consistently associated with good performance in all domains.H.B. was supported by the BBSRC DTP at the University of Cambridge (BB/M011194/1); A.B. was supported by a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award (WM160065); M.H. was supported by the MRC (MR/N002660/1); and J.W. was supported by The Alborada Trust

Trade-offs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable.

Acknowledgements: H.B. was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership at the University of Cambridge (BB/M011194/1) and is a part of the Future of Food program at the Oxford Martin School; A.B. was supported by a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award (WM160065); M.A.H. was supported by the Medical Research Council (MR/N002660/1); and J.L.N.W. was supported by The Alborada Trust. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. We are grateful to all the farmers who participated in this study and everyone who helped us in recruiting them. We cannot state your names to retain anonymity, but this study would not have been possible without you.Funder: The Alborada TrustFarming externalities are believed to co-vary negatively, yet trade-offs have rarely been quantified systematically. Here we present data from UK and Brazilian pig production systems representative of most commercial systems across the world ranging from 'intensive' indoor systems through to extensive free range, Organic and woodland systems to explore co-variation among four major externality costs. We found that no specific farming type was consistently associated with good performance across all domains. Generally, systems with low land use have low greenhouse gas emissions but high antimicrobial use and poor animal welfare, and vice versa. Some individual systems performed well in all domains but were not exclusive to any particular type of farming system. Our findings suggest that trade-offs may be avoidable if mitigation focuses on lowering impacts within system types rather than simply changing types of farming

Deep learning pose detection model for sow locomotion

Abstract Lameness affects animal mobility, causing pain and discomfort. Lameness in early stages often goes undetected due to a lack of observation, precision, and reliability. Automated and non-invasive systems offer precision and detection ease and may improve animal welfare. This study was conducted to create a repository of images and videos of sows with different locomotion scores. Our goal is to develop a computer vision model for automatically identifying specific points on the sow's body. The automatic identification and ability to track specific body areas, will allow us to conduct kinematic studies with the aim of facilitating the detection of lameness using deep learning. The video database was collected on a pig farm with a scenario built to allow filming of sows in locomotion with different lameness scores. Two stereo cameras were used to record 2D videos images. Thirteen locomotion experts assessed the videos using the Locomotion Score System developed by Zinpro Corporation. From this annotated repository, computational models were trained and tested using the open-source deep learning-based animal pose tracking framework SLEAP (Social LEAP Estimates Animal Poses). The top-performing models were constructed using the LEAP architecture to accurately track 6 (lateral view) and 10 (dorsal view) skeleton keypoints. The architecture achieved average precisions values of 0.90 and 0.72, average distances of 6.83 and 11.37 in pixel, and similarities of 0.94 and 0.86 for the lateral and dorsal views, respectively. These computational models are proposed as a Precision Livestock Farming tool and method for identifying and estimating postures in pigs automatically and objectively. The 2D video image repository with different pig locomotion scores can be used as a tool for teaching and research. Based on our skeleton keypoint classification results, an automatic system could be developed. This could contribute to the objective assessment of locomotion scores in sows, improving their welfare

Tradeoffs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable

Data on the land-use, greenhouse-gas, animal-welfare and antimicrobial-use costs of contrasting UK and Brazilian pig systems

Lameness in Pregnant Sows Alters Placental Stress Response

Pregnant sows from commercial pig farms may experience painful states, such as lameness, an essential indicator in assessing sow welfare. We investigated the effect of lameness during the last third of pregnancy on reproductive performance and placental glucocorticoid concentrations in sows. Periodic locomotion assessments were carried out on two commercial pig farms using a validated 0-5 scoring system (from 0: normal locomotion; to 5: a downer animal). Sows from both farms (N = 511) were grouped based on their average locomotion scores. On Farm 1, 30 sows were selected and grouped as either Not Lame (NL = 16; X¯ = 0-1) or Lame (L = 14; X¯ > 1). On Farm 2, 39 sows were selected and grouped as either Not Lame (G1 = 12; X¯ = 0-1), Moderately Lame (G2 = 13; X¯ = 1.1-2), or Severely Lame (G3 = 14; X¯ ≥ 2.1). Reproductive data (gestation length, litter weight, average piglet weight, litter size, and the number of piglets born alive/mummified/stillborn) were recorded on both farms. Moreover, on Farm 2, piglet intrauterine growth restriction score and the number of piglets dead during the first week were also recorded, and placenta samples were collected to determine their cortisol/cortisone concentrations. A linear mixed model was used to analyze the data. The proportion of lameness in pregnant sows (N = 511) was >40%, and the gestation length tended to decrease with the presence of lameness (p< 0.1) in both farms. G2 sows had a higher placental cortisol/cortisone ratio than G1 and G3 sows (p< 0.01). In conclusion, lameness was high in the sows assessed, which may decrease sow gestation length and reduce placental efficiency in protecting the offspring from the sows\u27 stress response