van den Berg J
Tijdschr Diergeneeskd. 1982 Oct 1;107(19):735-43.
Although much is known of the causes and prevention of tail-biting, this continues to be a common vice in pigs. The animals seek diversion by chewing on the tails of their fellows as they feel uncomfortable. This may result in inflammation of the tail. Prevention should be directed towards improvement of the conditions which cause the animal to feel uncomfortable. As this will often not be possible or only in part, efforts are made to prevent tail-biting by docking the tails. When tail-docking is performed according to the rule in one- to three-day-old animals, tail-biting obviously will no longer be possible. However, this does not mean removing the causes of tail-biting. This procedure is therefore undesirable from the point of view of welfare of the animals. Inflammation of the tail may result in metastasis to the spinal column and/or lungs. This is frequently associated with bacteraemia. Moreover, the resulting abscess formation will be highly objectionable from the point of view of hygiene.
尽管人们对咬尾的成因及预防措施了解颇多，但咬尾在猪群中仍是一种常见的恶习。当猪感到不适时，它们会通过啃咬同伴的尾巴来寻求消遣。这可能会导致尾巴发炎。预防措施应致力于改善那些使猪感到不适的环境条件。由于这往往不太可能完全做到或只能部分实现，人们便通过断尾来防止咬尾行为。如果在仔猪出生1至3天时按照规定进行断尾，显然咬尾行为将不再可能发生。然而，这并不意味着消除了咬尾的根源。因此，从动物福利的角度来看，这种做法是不可取的。尾巴发炎可能会导致转移至脊柱和/或肺部。这通常与菌血症有关。此外，从卫生角度来看，由此形成的脓肿是非常令人反感的。
