Campler Magnus R, Pairis-Garcia Monique D, Rault Jean-Loup, Coleman Grahame, Arruda Andreia G
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University, OH.
Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Transl Anim Sci. 2018 Jul 25;2(3):254-262. doi: 10.1093/tas/txy015. eCollection 2018 Sep.
Timely euthanasia is a fundamental part of safeguarding swine welfare by reducing suffering when compromised pigs are unable to recover. The quality and appropriateness of timely euthanasia rely mainly on the knowledge and experience of the individual caretaker but may also be affected by caretaker attitudes toward euthanasia. However, literature on caretaker attitudes toward swine euthanasia is lacking. This study investigated caretaker attitudes, perceived knowledge, and confidence in performing on-farm timely euthanasia. A total of 84 caretakers from eight swine farms (ranging in size from 1,300 to 7,000 sows) participated in a survey designed to investigate attitudes toward swine and swine euthanasia. Caretaker's ages ranged from 18 to 59 yr with an average work experience of 8.5 yr. The majority of participants worked in either farrowing or breeding units. Survey questions were designed to assess caretakers' attitudes and attributes (empathy affect, empathy attribution, attitudes toward pigs, feeling bad about euthanizing pigs, and assumptions about pigs' emotional capabilities), decision-making skills (confidence in identifying compromised pigs or relying on coworkers to make decisions), and euthanasia skillset (confidence in performing euthanasia, training, and perceived level of knowledge). Using cluster analysis to analyze survey answers, three distinct groups of caretakers were identified: 1) confident and empathetic; 2) Confident, knowledgeable, and detached; and 3) unconfident and lacking knowledge. The survey results showed that empathy attribution was strongly correlated with empathy affect ( = 0.571, < 0.01) and that empathy affect and empathy attribution were higher in female caretakers compared with male caretakers ( < 0.05). A risk analysis that included previously identified clusters showed that females were more likely to be grouped among caretakers that were confident and empathetic ( = 0.04), and caretakers with more than 2 yr of swine experience were more likely to be grouped as confident and skilled ( = 0.01), while the unconfident and empathetic were more likely to have had less than 2 yr of experience ( = 0.04). This study provides important information about variability in caretaker experience as well as their attitudes toward pigs and timely euthanasia. Increased knowledge about swine caretaker attitudes may be used to implement training and euthanasia protocols to increase both human and pig welfare on farm.
及时实施安乐死是保障猪福利的一项基本措施，当患病猪无法康复时，可减少其痛苦。及时安乐死的质量和恰当性主要取决于个体饲养员的知识和经验，但也可能受到饲养员对安乐死态度的影响。然而，目前缺乏关于饲养员对猪安乐死态度的文献。本研究调查了饲养员对在农场及时实施安乐死的态度、感知到的知识以及信心。来自8个猪场（母猪存栏量从1300头到7000头不等）的84名饲养员参与了一项旨在调查对猪及猪安乐死态度的调查。饲养员年龄在18至59岁之间，平均工作经验为8.5年。大多数参与者在分娩或繁殖单元工作。调查问题旨在评估饲养员的态度和属性（共情情感、共情归因、对猪的态度、对实施猪安乐死感到难过以及对猪情感能力的假设）、决策技能（识别患病猪或依靠同事做决策的信心）以及安乐死技能组合（实施安乐死的信心、培训情况以及感知到的知识水平）。通过聚类分析来分析调查答案，识别出了三类不同的饲养员群体：1）自信且有同情心的；2）自信、知识丰富且冷漠的；3）不自信且知识匮乏的。调查结果显示，共情归因与共情情感密切相关（r = 0.571，P < 0.01），并且女性饲养员的共情情感和共情归因高于男性饲养员（P < 0.05）。一项包含先前确定聚类的风险分析表明，女性更有可能被归为自信且有同情心的饲养员群体（P = 0.04），有超过2年养猪经验的饲养员更有可能被归为自信且熟练的群体（P = 0.01），而不自信且有同情心的饲养员更有可能养猪经验不足2年（P = 0.04）。本研究提供了关于饲养员经验差异以及他们对猪和及时安乐死态度的重要信息。增加对养猪饲养员态度的了解，可用于实施培训和安乐死方案，以提高农场中人和猪的福利。
