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An assessment of swine marketed through buying stations and development of fitness for transport guidelines
Culled breeding animals represent 3% of swine slaughtered in the United States (U.S.). Pigs are culled for multiple reasons including, body condition, injury, and poor performance. There are concerns that culled pigs face higher risks of becoming fatigued or non-ambulatory during marketing and transport. The objectives of this study were to (1) explore the welfare of culled swine marketed through buying stations, (2) to characterize the prevalence of different types of compromised swine, and (3) identify potential risk factors associated with fatigued and non-ambulatory pigs. A survey was conducted at integrated and independent buying stations in 2014. Fifteen individual buying stations were enrolled, representing four marketing companies with locations in the U.S. Detailed animal assessments were conducted at the time of unloading on all incoming trailer loads with every pig on each load assessed. Pigs were scored for condition on arrival (non-ambulatory, fatigued, dead), as well as body condition, injuries, hernias, skin lesions, vulva lesions, tail bites, lameness, abscesses, and prolapses. Pigs that were segregated from their cohorts by buying station employees due to health and welfare concerns were further evaluated based on their final outcome (rested and recovered, euthanized or died). The number of trailers per day ranged from one to twelve incoming loads. Animals per load ranged from 9 to 177, including culled sows, breeding gilts, boars, and market pigs. A total of 7,105 pigs and 122 trailer loads were evaluated. Three pigs were dead on arrival (0.04% of total population). Sows and boars comprised 86% of the fatigued animals (total population fatigued = 16%), 73% of the lame pigs (total population lame = 5%) and 82% of the animals with a body condition score of 1 (total population with BCS1 = 4%). Market pigs comprised 9% of abscesses (total population abscesses = 6%), and 79% of hernias (total population with hernias =3%). Follow-up assessments were conducted on 119 pigs segregated from their cohort, of which 79 were euthanized (66%). Prevalence ratios of fatigue, severe skin lesions, severe abscesses, and poor body condition score were greater in sows and gilts than market pigs (2.18, (CI 1.84-2.58), 8.48, (CI 3.99-18.05), 3.22 (CI 1.78-5.85), and 2.36 (CI 1.61-3.46) respectively; P<0.01 for all). The opportunity to identify at risk pigs that fail to cope with transport and handling stressors can assist decision-making about fitness for transport, with implications for humane endpoints and mitigating production losses.
Keywords: Culled pigs, transportation, welfare