Pig-level risk factors for in-transit losses in swine: a review

Zurbrigg, Kathy; Dreumel, Tony van; Rothschild, Max F.; Alves, Denisard; Friendship, Robert; O’Sullivan, Terri L.

doi:10.1139/cjas-2016-0193

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Modern pigs may have less ability to withstand high temperatures during transport compared with pigs that were raised several decades ago. Indeed, the rapid growth of modern market pigs combined with a small heart size relative to body mass and acute stress during transport can result in tachycardia and death due to heart failure (86). Recent evidence also suggests that pigs may suffer from heart abnormalities, which predispose them to cardiac failure (87).…”

Section: Extreme Temperatures—heatmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Swine Transportation Research on Priority Welfare Issues: A Canadian Perspective

Rioja-Lang

Brown

Brockhoff³

et al. 2019

Front. Vet. Sci.

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The purpose of this review is to present the best available scientific knowledge on key animal welfare issues during swine transport, such as transport duration and distance, time off feed and water, rest intervals, environmental conditions, loading density, and transport of young animals, based on their impact on stress, injury, fatigue, dehydration, body temperature, mortality, and carcass and meat quality. The review was limited to this set of priority welfare issues which were identified by the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) Scientific Committee to help with the development of the livestock transportation Codes of Practice. This review focuses primarily on research related to the transport of market pigs (100–135 kg) which is a reflection of the current literature available on pig transportation. This information presented here can be used to support other animal welfare codes, guidelines, standards or legislations regulating the welfare of pigs during transport. Based on the available literature, clear conclusions can be drawn on the impact of vehicle design, pre-transport fasting, control of environmental conditions and loading density on the welfare of pigs during transport and on pork quality. However, the effects of journey duration are still unclear and a recommendation on the maximum transport time cannot be provided. Further studies investigating the impact of factors, such as ambient conditions within the transport vehicle, loading density at extreme ambient conditions, travel distances, maximum travel duration, rest/stop duration, and management of pigs during rest stops are required. More specifically, further research in relation to the welfare of market weight, newly weaned and breeding pigs, and cull sows and boars during transport is needed.

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Section: Extreme Temperatures—heatmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Swine Transportation Research on Priority Welfare Issues: A Canadian Perspective

Rioja-Lang

Brown

Brockhoff³

et al. 2019

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Transport losses (dead and non-ambulatory pigs) in market weight pigs are a multifactorial problem that can occur from injury, fatigue, or death at any time from loading at the farm to stunning at the plant ( Ritter et al, 2009 ). Several factors associated with pig transport losses include the dynamic elements of people, pigs, facility design, transportation, and environmental factors ( Johnson et al, 2013 ; Zubrigg et al, 2017 ; Rioja-Lang et al, 2019 ). The rate of dead and non-ambulatory pigs that can result from negative outcomes relative to the aforementioned factors is an important issue to monitor and improve, as it can affect the health conditions, livelihood, and welfare of market weight pigs as they progress during the marketing process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport losses in market weight pigs: II. U.S. incidence and economic impact

Ritter

Yoder

Jones

et al. 2020

Translational Animal Science

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An industry survey representing approximately 310 million (M) market weight pigs was conducted with 20 U.S. slaughter facilities over the calendars years of 2012 to 2015 to determine the incidence, seasonal patterns, and estimated economic impact of dead and non-ambulatory pigs. Each plant entered daily totals in a secure online database for the following variables: 1) pigs slaughtered, 2) dead on arrival (DOA; dead on the truck), 3) euthanized on arrival (EOA; non-ambulatory pig with an injury that required euthanasia), 4) dead in pen (DIP; died after unloading), and 5) non-ambulatory (pig unable to move or keep up with the rest of the group from unloading to stunning). Total dead pigs were calculated as DOA + EOA + DIP, and total losses were calculated as non-ambulatory + total dead. The economic impact was estimated based on the 4-yr weighted averages from USDA annual reports for market swine slaughtered (108,470,550 pigs), live market weight (126.9 kg), and live market price ($1.44/kg). The 4-yr weighted averages for total dead, non-ambulatory, and total losses were 0.26%, 0.63%, and 0.88%, respectively. Total dead consisted of 0.15% DOA, 0.05% EOA, and 0.05% DIP. The months with the highest rates of total dead were July (0.29%), August (0.32%), and September (0.30%), while the lowest incidence rates occurred in February (0.22%), March (0.22%), and April (0.22%). The months with the highest rates of non-ambulatory pigs were observed during the months of October (0.70%), November (0.71%), and December (0.70%), whereas the lowest rates of non-ambulatory pigs were observed during the months of April (0.57%), May (0.53%), and June (0.54%). The following assumptions were used in the economic analysis: 1) dead pigs received no value and 2) non-ambulatory pigs were discounted 30%. Based on these assumptions, the annual cost to the industry for dead and non-ambulatory pigs was estimated to be $52 M ($0.48 per pig marketed) and $37 M ($0.35 per pig marketed), respectively. Therefore, total losses represent approximately $89 M in economic losses or $0.83 per pig marketed. This is the first industry-wide survey on the incidence of transport losses in market weight pigs at U.S. slaughter facilities, and this information is important for establishing an industry baseline and benchmark for transport losses that can be used for measuring industry improvements.

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“…Other studies also support this thesis, demonstrating that a higher number of deaths occur during transport in summer, while lesions occur more frequently in autumn [ 13 ]. The risk of death also increases during transportation if the animals are not starved before loading or if they are injured [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Bipartite Network Analysis and Ordination Technique to Evaluate Long-Term Data from Veterinary–Sanitary Examination of Slaughtered Pigs

Majewski

Dylewski

Grabowski

et al. 2022

Animals

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Animal and meat inspections in abattoirs are important in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Veterinary inspections in abattoirs can provide useful data for the management of health and welfare issues of humans and animals. Using the network analysis and ordination technique, in this study, we analyzed the data from 11 years of veterinary inspections in pig slaughterhouses from 16 regions in Poland. Based on the huge data set of 80,187,639 cases of diseases and welfare issues of pigs, the most frequent livestock diseases were identified to be abscesses, soiling, faecal or other contaminations, and congestions, which together accounted for 77.6% of the total condemnations. Spatial and temporal differences in swine diseases between the Polish regions were recognized using the above-mentioned statistical approaches. Moreover, with the use of a quite novel method, not used yet in preventive veterinary medicine, called a heatmap, the most problematic disease and welfare issues in each region in Poland were identified. The use of statistical approaches such as network analysis and ordination technique allow for identification of the health and welfare issues in slaughterhouses when dealing with long-term inspection data based on a very large number of cases, and then have to be adopted in current veterinary medicine.

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Pig-level risk factors for in-transit losses in swine: a review

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

A Review of Swine Transportation Research on Priority Welfare Issues: A Canadian Perspective

A Review of Swine Transportation Research on Priority Welfare Issues: A Canadian Perspective

Transport losses in market weight pigs: II. U.S. incidence and economic impact

Applying Bipartite Network Analysis and Ordination Technique to Evaluate Long-Term Data from Veterinary–Sanitary Examination of Slaughtered Pigs

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