By Alice McFarlane

Livestock transport research studies stress

Aug 21, 2020 | 3:09 PM

Researchers say studying how stress affects animals during transport is the key to minimizing the impact.

An ongoing study is assessing the effects of long distance versus short distance transport of pigs.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine assistant professor of swine behaviour and welfare Dr. Yolande Seddon said scientists are tracking the behavior of weaned pigs.

She said they know there is stress in transport but, what they hope to guard against is stress becoming a distress.

“I think the pigs are very resilient animals. A lot of them walk off the truck and they look good,” Seddon said. “It’s obviously a practice that we regularly do, transporting animals, but then understanding how our practices might be an influence gives us a greater appreciation.”

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Seddon said animal care can be adjusted to ensure the pigs receive the support they need to overcome a stressor like transport.

“I think there’s always something we can learn, and I think this information can go toward supporting recommendations for best practices about how we transport pigs. Some of it may, in the end, be used to support legislative regulations,” she said.

Seddon said there will be recommendations coming from the research.

“It would result in some practical application for how, if we need to, provide any supplementary support to pigs and what might work,” she said.

Seddon said by understanding how transport practices influence pigs it will be easier to determine when people need to intervene.

The study is part of ongoing research being conducted by the Prairie Swine Center, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Guelph. Swine Innovation Porc and the Agriculture Development Fund Saskatchewan are supporting partners.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF