Dang-Xuan Sinh, Huyen Le Thi Thanh, Ha Tu-Quynh, Duc Do Van, Dung Le Tien, Tuan Han Anh, Unger Fred, Doyle Rebecca, Toribio Jenny-Ann
International Livestock Research Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam.
National Institute of Animal Science, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2025 Sep 23;57(8):392. doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04602-5.
Smallholder pig farms are an important feature of pork supply in Asia, and these farming approaches present unique management considerations. This survey was conducted to pilot a welfare assessment protocol and to investigate smallholder pig management and welfare at two sites in Vietnam, one with 55 farms raising predominantly indigenous pigs (the Da Bac site) and the other 55 farms raising predominantly non-indigenous pigs (the Lac Son site). Farmers at both sites kept small numbers of confined pigs, with more keeping sows in Da Bac and some keeping only grower pigs in Lac Son. Via an interview and pig observation, data on 18 welfare measures were recorded for adult pigs, suckling piglets and grower pigs. Pigs on > 90% of farms did not exhibit panting, tail biting, scouring, negative social behaviour, stereotypic behaviour, coughing or lameness demonstrating adequate welfare for these welfare measures. However, all pigs on > 50% of farms had restricted access to drinking water at both sites, and pigs often displayed fear of humans in the Da Bac site. The body condition of most pigs was thin or very thin among the sows on 31% of farms and among the grower pigs on 32% of farms. This pilot proved that the welfare assessment protocol is feasible and provided lessons for its future use in other low-to-middle income countries. It also found that low-cost interventions are urgently needed to address water access and undernutrition in order to improve the welfare of smallholder pigs and the production of these farms.
小规模养猪场是亚洲猪肉供应的一个重要特征，这些养殖方式带来了独特的管理考量。本次调查旨在试行一项福利评估方案，并对越南两个地点的小规模养猪管理及福利状况进行调查，其中一个地点有55个主要饲养本地猪的农场（达巴克地点），另一个地点有55个主要饲养非本地猪的农场（乐信地点）。两个地点的农户都饲养少量圈养猪，达巴克地点饲养母猪的农户更多，而乐信地点有些农户只饲养生长猪。通过访谈和观察猪的情况，记录了成年猪、哺乳仔猪和生长猪18项福利指标的数据。超过90%的农场中的猪未表现出喘气、咬尾、腹泻、负面社交行为、刻板行为、咳嗽或跛行，表明这些福利指标的福利状况良好。然而，两个地点超过50%的农场中的所有猪的饮用水供应受限，而且在达巴克地点猪常常表现出对人的恐惧。在31%的农场的母猪以及32%的农场的生长猪中，大多数猪的身体状况消瘦或非常消瘦。本次试点证明福利评估方案是可行的，并为其未来在其他中低收入国家的应用提供了经验教训。研究还发现，迫切需要采取低成本干预措施来解决饮水问题和营养不良问题，以改善小规模养殖猪的福利以及这些农场的生产状况。
