The Attainment of Humane Housing for Farm Livestock

In discussing animal welfare it is very easy for the discussion to become bogged down by misunderstandings. Commonly the first misunderstanding arises over the definition of animal welfare. In the content of this article we will take it for granted that any definition includes the physical well-being of the animal as well as ensuring that the animal can fulfill much of its genetically controlled behavioral repertoire. The second misunderstanding arises when the political and scientific assessments of the subject are meshed together. In a scientific assessment, the aim should be to examine welfare problems strictly from what we know about the physiology and behavior of the species under consideration. In relation to the humane housing offarm animals, it should aim at informing the public of the pros and cons of different housing systems with respect to the animals\u27 physiology and behavior. From this knowledge the politicians and their electorate can choose which level of welfare they can adopt while protecting their farmers, for example, from cheap imports from countries where the standards of animal welfare are lower. In this article we shall discuss from the ethological viewpoint how the various ways by which housing systems for farm animals can be assessed with respect to the animals\u27 welfare, and how an ethologically suitable system can be attained

Aggressive behaviour of grouped sows in different contexts

Pregnant sows are generally kept tethered or confined in individual stalls in order to reduce aggression. When such a housing method is adopted, many effects contrary to the welfare of animals arise (Fraser, 1975; Stolba et al., 1983). In Italy, even in intensive breeding units, sows are kept in groups for at least half of the pregnancy, without great problems of productivity. In this study, we show the results of an investigation carried out in order to detect when and where the aggression occurs among grouped sows, with special reference to the feeding method

A note on the diurnal activity of early weaned piglets in flat-deck cages at 3 and 6 weeks of age

The behaviour of eight litters of Large White x Landrace piglets aged 3 weeks was scored in flat-deck cages every 2 min for 12 h during the day, noting the frequences of 11 behaviour patterns. Similar observations were made at 6 weeks of age, and five main activities at the two ages were compared. There was a significant decrease in the frequency of aggressive encounters between the two ages, while the other activities remained at the same frequencies. The proportion of scores devoted to the main activities is given

Aspects and influence of social behaviour on food intake in early-weaned piglets

In modern pig husbandry weaning of piglets is accelerated in comparison to conventional agiculture. These animals are often placed in flat-deck cages where behavioural difficulties, especially related to feeding and drinking, sometimes arise (Van Putten & Dammers, 1976). In a series of experiments the frequencies of some behavioural patterns were recorded in litters of 4-week-old piglets during periods of auditory and visual stimulation

Social and aggressive behaviour in grouped pregnant sows

In several countries where intensive pig husbandry is carried out, the pregnant sows are kept tethered. Farmers, who are often frightened by aggression in their animals, state that such a method avoids high levels of competition among the individuals, with no risks for the growing foetuses. Nevertheless, tethering is certainly not optimal from the sow point of view, especially if we consider its welfare (Fraser, 1975; Stolba et al., 1983). On the other hand, in Italy the sows are generally kept living in groups during all or most of the pregnancy period, without getting particular problems of reproduction. In order to detect if grouped sows really develop high levels of aggression, we observed some of these during the second half of the pregnancy, recording in each observational session the aggressive interactions performed by every individual