TECHNICAL REPORT Submitted to EFSA Preparatory Work for The
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EN-181 TECHNICAL REPORT submitted to EFSA Preparatory work for the future development of animal based measures for assessing the welfare of pigs1 Report 2: Preparatory work for the future development of animal based measures for assessing the welfare of weaned, growing and fattening pigs including aspects related to space allowance, floor types, tail biting and need for tail docking Prepared by Hans Spoolder2, Marc Bracke2, Christine Mueller-Graf3, Sandra Edwards4 2 Wageningen UR Livestock Research, PO box 65, 8200 AB, Lelystad, The Netherlands 3 Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) Head of Unit Epidemiology, Biometry and Mathematical Modelling Department Scientific Services, Alt-Marienfelde 17-21, D-12277 Berlin, Germany 4 Newcastle University, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Agriculture Building Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Abstract The EFSA Animal Health and Welfare panel is requested to develop several scientific opinions concerning animal based measures to assess the welfare of livestock animals. Before this work can start, it is important that conclusions and recommendations of the EFSA scientific opinions are up 1 (Question No EFSA-Q-2011-00879) Accepted for Publication on 05 July 2011 The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s). This task has been carried out exclusively by the author(s) in the context of a contract between the European Food Safety Authority and the author(s), awarded following a tender procedure. The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the European Food Safety Authority is subject. It may not be considered as an output adopted by EFSA. EFSA reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors. European Food Safety Authority - Largo N. Palli 5/a, I - 43121 Parma Tel: (+39) 0521 036 200 • Fax: (+39) 0521 036 0200 • www.efsa.europa.eu Preparatory work for pig welfare indicators – Report 2 to date. The main objective of this report is to review the pig welfare literature to identify gaps and potential areas to strengthen or amend three recent pig welfare opinions: one on the welfare of Fattening pigs (2007), another on Space allowances and floor design (2005) and a final one on Tail biting (2007). The literature review was done by a group of authors and reviewers, under the supervision of an editorial team. Over 200 new scientific literature references are quoted. Regarding the first opinion, this review presents 11 new or revised conclusions. In addition it suggests several new recommendations. These include suggestions for maximum noise levels and ammonia levels, and minimum light duration. Furthermore, attention is drawn to the need of pigs to cool themselves when ambient temperature is high. Finally, the recommendations also emphasise the need to further study the relationship between space allowance and negative social behaviours. Regarding the second opinion, it draws 5 conclusions. The recommendations predominantly confirm those in the original opinion, but also emphasise the need for a well maintained substrate to reduce leg problems and gastric ulcers. For the third opinion, 10 new conclusions are added. The recommendations include the monitoring of tail length at the slaughter line, and the use of new management and housing information to avoid the need for tail docking. It also suggests that an intact curly tail can be regarded as the single most important welfare indicator in finishing pigs. Summary The EFSA Animal Health and Welfare panel is requested to develop several scientific opinions concerning animal based measures to assess the welfare of livestock. The main background documents for these mandates are the EFSA Scientific Opinions on the welfare of livestock and the Welfare Quality® assessment protocols. EFSA has issued in the past the 5 scientific opinions on different aspects related to the welfare of pig. Three of these are: i) Animal health and welfare in fattening pigs in relation to housing and husbandry (2007); ii) The welfare of weaners and rearing pigs: effects of different space allowances and floor (2005) and iii) The risks associated with tail biting in pigs and possible means to reduce the need for tail docking considering the different housing and husbandry systems (2007). The terms of reference (ToRs) of the Commission mandates on animal based measures to assess the welfare of livestock animals suggest that such measures could be used to check whether the recommendations listed in the EFSA scientific opinions are fulfilled or not. It is therefore important that conclusions and recommendations of the EFSA scientific opinions are up to date. The 5 scientific opinions are evaluated in two reports. The main objective of both reports is to present preparatory work for the future mandate on animal based measures for assessing pig welfare. It is a review of the literature provided in the opinions in order to identify gaps and potential areas to strengthen or amend the conclusions and recommendations of such opinions. It also aims to identify hazards that may be revised by the AHAW Panel in light of the newly available scientific evidence. The present report addresses the three opinions referred to above, presented here as sub-reports C, D and E, respectively. The editors of the two reports used a step wise iterative approach in which they involved experts from different research institutes. An initial literature search resulted in a large number of abstracts, of which more than 800 were read by the editorial team and analysed for statements relevant to the two reports. Authors were recruited and were sent one or more paragraphs with statements derived from the abstracts. They were asked to add their expertise, any missing references and statements, and to develop the statements into texts for each paragraph. The draft paragraph texts were then The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s). This task has been carried out exclusively by the author(s) in the context of a contract between the European Food Safety Authority and the author(s), awarded following a tender procedure. The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the European Food Safety Authority is subject. It may not be considered as an output adopted by EFSA. EFSA reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors. Preparatory work for pig welfare indicators – Report 2 sent to „first reviewers‟. These reviewers received large chunks of each report (several paragraphs from several authors) and developed the texts further. They provided additional expertise or references. Subsequently, five „second reviewers‟ were asked to do the same as the first reviewers. In a final step the editorial team over-viewed the text and put together the list of recommendations and associated hazards, based on the original recommendations list of the original EFSA reports. The literature searches conducted at the beginning of this project (for both Reports 1 and 2) resulted in 6435 unique references (for both reports). Databases searched included CAB Abstracts, Agricola and ISI Web of Knowledge (which included both the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) and the Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (CPCI-S) databases). General searches were conducted on pig welfare as of (and including) 2007 using the key words pig*, sow*, boar*, welfare, well-being, behav* and stress. Specific searches were conducted on space and floors (as of 2005) using the key words floor*, space and castr*. For the present report a total of over 200 scientific publications were used to formulate additional conclusions and recommendations to the original opinions. Conclusions for sub-report C on “Animal health and welfare in fattening pigs in relation to housing and husbandry” include: i) genetic traits of fearfulness and aggression have been identified and could be incorporated in practical breeding programmes to improve welfare, ii) all new data reinforce the importance of providing suitable enrichment materials to allow expression of species relevant behaviours and reduce risk of injurious biting, iii) destructibility, hygiene and novelty are key elements of suitable enrichment, iv) provision of cooling facilities for pigs are important in any situation of increased ambient temperature or endogenous heat production, v) Ammonia levels of >20ppm have adverse effects on pig physiology and behaviour, vi) There is a high prevalence of locomotory disorders on many farms which should be addressed through genetic and environmental improvement. Recommendations for sub-report C include: i) since pigs have limited abilities to loose heat (they cannot sweat), pigs should be allowed to seek cooling when overheated, not only in case of elevated ambient temperatures, but also in cases of elevated activity, fever and high metabolism, ii) ammonia levels in pig housing should not exceed 20ppm, iii) noise levels in pig housing should be <80dB, iv) although the ability of pigs to discriminate between small visual cues at light intensities from 12 to 80 lux does not appear to change, a light intensity of >80 lux during activity periods reduces aggression compared to 40 lux. A minimum light period of 14h/day should