Carroll G A, Boyle L A, Hanlon A, Palmer M A, Collins L, Griffin K, Armstrong D, O'Connell N E
1Institute for Global Food Security, Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland Technology Centre, Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 5HN UK.
Animal & Grassland Research & Innovation Centre, Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork Republic of Ireland.
Ir Vet J. 2018 Mar 2;71:8. doi: 10.1186/s13620-018-0118-0. eCollection 2018.
Physiological measures indicative of the welfare status of animals during rearing could form part of an abattoir-based animal health and welfare assessment tool. A total of 66 pigs were used in this study, the aim of which was to assess how serum concentrations of haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (assessed in 51 pigs), and hair concentrations of cortisol (assessed in 65 pigs), measured at or close to slaughter, reflected welfare-related indicators recorded from the animal during its lifetime. These indicators were recorded at intervals between 7 and 21 weeks of age and included assigning scores for levels of tail and skin lesions, recording the presence or absence of certain health issues, and conducting qualitative behavioural assessments (QBA).
Pigs recorded as having tail lesions during their lifetime had higher hair cortisol levels than those with no tail lesions (tail lesions: 47.87 ± 3.34 pg/mg, no tail lesions: 42.20 ± 3.29 pg/mg, = 0.023), and pigs recorded as having moderate or severe tail lesions had higher Hp levels than those with no or mild tail lesions (moderate/severe: 1.711 mg/ml ± 0.74, none/mild: 0.731 mg/ml ±0.10, = 0.010). Pigs recorded as being lame during their lifetime tended to have higher hair cortisol levels than non-lame pigs (lame: 52.72 pg/mg ± 3.83, not lame: 43.07 pg/mg ± 2.69, = 0.062). QBA scores were not associated with any of the physiological measures ( > 0.05). Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) analysis was also carried out to get a better understanding of the usefulness of the physiological measures in discriminating animals that had had welfare-related issues recorded during their lifetime from those that had not. Hair cortisol was determined as having 'moderate' accuracy in discriminating pigs that were tail bitten on-farm from unbitten pigs (AUC: 0.748) while Hp and CRP were determined to have no meaningful discriminatory ability (AUC < 0.600).
This research should be repeated on a larger scale, but the results suggest that hair cortisol measured at slaughter could provide insight into the welfare status of pigs during their lifetime. Hp may be a useful indicator of tail lesions in pigs. However, further research utilising a greater proportion of severely bitten pigs is required before conclusions can be drawn.
表明动物饲养期间福利状况的生理指标可成为基于屠宰场的动物健康与福利评估工具的一部分。本研究共使用了66头猪，目的是评估在屠宰时或接近屠宰时测定的触珠蛋白（Hp）和C反应蛋白（CRP）的血清浓度（在51头猪中进行评估）以及皮质醇的毛发浓度（在65头猪中进行评估）如何反映动物一生中记录的与福利相关的指标。这些指标在7至21周龄期间每隔一段时间记录一次，包括对尾巴和皮肤损伤程度进行评分、记录某些健康问题的有无以及进行定性行为评估（QBA）。
一生中记录有尾巴损伤的猪的毛发皮质醇水平高于没有尾巴损伤的猪（尾巴损伤：47.87±3.34 pg/mg，无尾巴损伤：42.20±3.29 pg/mg，P = 0.023），记录有中度或重度尾巴损伤的猪的Hp水平高于无或轻度尾巴损伤的猪（中度/重度：1.711 mg/ml±0.74，无/轻度：0.731 mg/ml±0.10，P = 0.010）。一生中记录为跛足的猪的毛发皮质醇水平往往高于非跛足猪（跛足：52.72 pg/mg±3.83，非跛足：43.07 pg/mg±2.69，P = 0.062）。QBA评分与任何生理指标均无关联（P>0.05）。还进行了受试者操作特征曲线（ROC）分析，以更好地了解生理指标在区分一生中记录有与福利相关问题的动物和没有此类问题的动物方面的有用性。毛发皮质醇在区分农场中被尾巴咬伤的猪和未被咬伤的猪方面被确定具有“中等”准确性（曲线下面积：0.748），而Hp和CRP被确定没有有意义的区分能力（曲线下面积<0.600）。
本研究应在更大规模上重复进行，但结果表明屠宰时测定的毛发皮质醇可为猪一生中的福利状况提供见解。Hp可能是猪尾巴损伤的有用指标。然而，在得出结论之前，需要利用更大比例的严重咬伤猪进行进一步研究。
