Schmid Simone M, Steinhoff-Wagner Julia
Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Vet Sci. 2022 Jan 17;9(1):32. doi: 10.3390/vetsci9010032.
Piglets often undergo several painful treatments during the initial days of their lives. In this review, we investigate the acute (i.e., immediate), short-, and long-term implications of piglet processing on behavioral, physiological, clinical, and performance parameters, and how welfare impairments depend on performance instead of sham procedure, alternative techniques, or the age of the piglets. Welfare indicators that have been used to determine the least distressing procedures and knowledge gaps with regard to the procedures are identified and discussed. Tail docking and especially piglet castration have been the most researched topics, whereas marking for identification has been rarely addressed. Few or no studies have investigated the effects of teeth resection and tail docking on piglets of different age groups. Additionally, results are often found to be inconsistent, highlighting the need for additional research to determine the optimal age for processing. Studies comparing different processing techniques have produced contradictory results, but ear notching, teeth clipping, hot cautery tail docking, and tearing during castration have been determined to result in increased pain. Generally, a shorter procedure duration can reduce stress, with operator training having a distinct impact on piglet welfare during processing. As such, these topics should be further investigated.
仔猪在出生后的最初几天通常要接受几种痛苦的治疗。在这篇综述中，我们研究了仔猪处理对行为、生理、临床和生产性能参数的急性（即即时）、短期和长期影响，以及福利损害如何取决于生产性能而非假手术、替代技术或仔猪年龄。我们确定并讨论了用于确定最不痛苦程序的福利指标以及这些程序方面的知识空白。断尾，尤其是仔猪阉割，一直是研究最多的主题，而标识标记则很少被提及。很少有研究或没有研究调查过不同年龄组仔猪的断牙和断尾效果。此外，研究结果往往不一致，这突出表明需要进行更多研究以确定最佳处理年龄。比较不同处理技术的研究产生了相互矛盾的结果，但已确定耳号标记、剪牙、热灼断尾和阉割时撕裂会导致疼痛加剧。一般来说，较短的操作持续时间可以减轻应激，操作人员的培训对处理过程中的仔猪福利有显著影响。因此，这些主题应进一步研究。
