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A comprehensive guide to its aetiology, impact and wider significance in pig management
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the issue of tail biting in pigs, one of the most significant welfare and economic problems in the pig industry. With contributions from renowned experts in their fields, it is an essential resource for both scientists, and industry stakeholders. Key topics include the evolutionary roots of the disorder, internal and external risk factors, methods that can be used to address the issue, including human behavioural change, and the wider economic, and ethical considerations. Finally, evidence is provided as to how an intact tail can be used as an ice-berg indicator for overall pig welfare.
A comprehensive guide to its aetiology, impact and wider significance in pig management
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the issue of tail biting in pigs, one of the most significant welfare and economic problems in the pig industry. With contributions from renowned experts in their fields, it is an essential resource for both scientists, and industry stakeholders. Key topics include the evolutionary roots of the disorder, internal and external risk factors, methods that can be used to address the issue, including human behavioural change, and the wider economic, and ethical considerations. Finally, evidence is provided as to how an intact tail can be used as an ice-berg indicator for overall pig welfare.
Abstract
This chapter describes the function of the porcine tail based on the current available literature and it provides a comprehensive overview of the anatomy and physiology of the pig’s tail at both gross and microscopical levels. This chapter also includes details of the somatosensory and motor innervation necessary for the tail to respond to external stimuli such as touch and pain, and to coordinate its movement and posture for communication and expression of emotional state. In addition, this chapter discusses the different types of lesions caused by tail biting and describes the outcomes of lesions of varying severity (e.g. superficial to full thickness tissue injury and tail amputation) and their implications for pig health and welfare.
Abstract
Humans play a key role in determining the welfare status of animals kept under their control. For example, stakeholders in the farming industry such as veterinarians, consumers, retailers and legislators all have responsibility in determining pig welfare standards. Today, Human Behaviour Change (HBC) is a well-established field that is used to address important human health issues such as smoking cessation, increasing physical activity, and improving disease detection. However, despite the wealth of knowledge and research on HBC, the majority of ‘interventions’ regarding farming practices come in the form of top-down public policy changes that tend to lack a theoretical underpinning. The Behaviour Change Wheel provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the key predictors of human behaviour and has a user-friendly structure, making it a practical tool for those interested in changing human behaviour to reduce tail biting in pigs. This chapter provides an intervention design guide for those working with pigs that may be new to intervention design or who may be unfamiliar with the psychological foundations of Human Behaviour Change. A guide is provided along with hypothetical and real-world examples to aid understanding of this sometimes complex field, from defining the behaviour to be changed, to assessing the effectiveness of the designed intervention.
Abstract
The costs of tail biting lesions across Europe are around €0.6 to €3.4 per finished pig. These costs are mainly caused by additional work, material and medication costs, carcass price discounts, impaired feed conversion efficiency and growth rate of pigs. Losses associated with tail biting lesions are influenced by the incidence and severity of tail biting on the farm. Additional work and inputs are needed also to control tail biting preventively. While low-cost measures can be economically profitable already at low levels of efficacy, high-cost measures require that they can mitigate substantial losses.
Widespread use of tail docking seems to be accepted because the alternative steps that producers are required to take before resorting to it are not specified in detail, and because it seems to be less risky and more profitable to produce docked than undocked pigs. Scientific research and a European Commission Recommendation indicate that when considering the legal obligation to try to prevent tail biting by changing inadequate environmental conditions or management systems, inspectors and pig producers should assess, and consider whether improvements are needed regarding thermal comfort and air quality; health status; diet; competition for space or feed; cleanliness; and the quality and quantity of enrichment material that is provided. If tail biting is still a problem on the farm, farmers should carefully consider what additional improvements are needed to prevent tail biting rather than assuming that no further action is necessary because certain levels, for example of enrichment, air quality, space allowance and health, have already been reached.
Abstract
Environmental enrichment is commonly used to reduce tail biting. The most used types of enrichment for pigs are organic substrates (e.g., straw or wood shavings) and ‘point source’ objects (e.g., hanging wooden blocks or plastic toys). These can stimulate activity and give pigs some opportunity to engage in rewarded action, whilst stimulating their different senses to varying degrees. Amongst the organic substrates, straw has been studied most. It is most effective in large quantities, although smaller quantities can still reduce tail biting. Several less-studied substrates seem at least as effective as straw, offering opportunities where straw is unavailable. Many different ‘point source’ objects have been tested, of which fresh wood and hessian sacks were found to reduce tail biting to some extent. Other objects were generally ineffective unless changed regularly. As questions around the causation of tail biting are not fully solved, designing objects that addresses these causes remains challenging. Although most research has focused on preventive enrichment, enrichment can also be introduced when signs of tail biting have just started, to minimise the impact of biting. Pre-weaning or even pre-natal enrichment may also be beneficial, but knowledge on this is currently scarce. Similarly, little is known about the biosecurity risks, although unsafe levels of bacteria and toxins have occasionally been reported for some substrates. Poor compatibility with slatted floors, costs and biosecurity concerns currently limit the wider application of substrates in commercial practice, whereas cheaper but less effective point-source enrichment is more common. In conclusion, appropriate enrichment provision can reduce tail biting substantially. Nonetheless, it does not eliminate the behaviour to such an extent that no other measures to reduce tail biting are necessary.
Abstract
In this chapter, the case of tail biting and docking in pigs is discussed from an ethical point of view. Utilitarian, welfarist, Kantian, care ethical, and virtue ethical theories are explained and applied to this case. A distinction is made between ideal and non-ideal ethical theories. Ideal theories provide an end-state towards which we should strive. According to some ideal theories, this end-state is the abolition of pig farming. Other ideal theories posit that it is morally allowed to farm pigs, as long as the pigs have good lives. However, ideal theories are not always well-equipped to deal with practical decision making in real world situations. Non-ideal theories therefore argue that we should focus on making piecemeal improvements to the current situation. We argue that we need both ideal theories to give meaning to our efforts and provide the ‘dot on the horizon’, and non-ideal theories to reflect on the steps towards that ideal. While there are clear differences of opinion between different theories there is convergence on a number of issues. First of all, when pigs have limited opportunities for carrying out their natural behaviours or are suffering from other health-and-welfare problems this may lead to psychopathological behaviour, such as tail biting. Therefore, we need to look at the underlying causes of tail biting and consider if alternatives are possible to tail docking; this is just the treatment of a symptom and does not solve the problem of reduced welfare that triggers the behaviour. Secondly, it is morally problematic to change the pigs by docking their tails rather than improving their environment (by providing enrichment etc.). Breeding pigs without tails, without biting impulses or pigs that are happy despite poor living conditions may also raise moral concerns, both from the viewpoint of welfare and from arguments beyond welfare, such as instrumentalisation, objectification, violation of integrity, and de-animalisation.
Abstract
Measuring lesions caused by tail biting has many benefits: it can be used as an iceberg indicator for pig welfare (see Chapter 15) and as a benchmarking tool for producers to assess farm management both against themselves over time and compared to other pig producers. It is also a good indicator of risk for secondary infections and other health challenges. However, even though it may seem straightforward to evaluate tail biting-related lesions there is no uniform, generally accepted protocol available, and thus results from different sources are difficult to compare. This is further complicated by differences that arise in scoring tails on the live animal (on farm or in the abattoir) and scoring lesions on the dead pig’s carcass. In addition, findings differ depending on the production stage when measuring on-farm and the site of measuring in the abattoir. This chapter discusses the pros and cons, as well as practical constraints of different sites for and methods of scoring tail damage. The outcome of tail lesion scoring is greatly affected by the chosen scoring system and scoring conditions. Thus, the scoring system should be selected according to the purpose: the preferred scoring method will differ if the aim is, for example to do scientific research on-farm for identifying risk factors or ways for intervention of outbreaks, or large-scale assessment for benchmarking purposes. Also results from different reports and studies can only be compared with great care, and considering the scoring system and conditions. Scoring tail lesions at the slaughterhouse is easier to standardise than on-farm, and abattoirs usually provide good conditions for systematic scoring. If all types of damage are included, including healed lesions, it also provides a good point to estimate lifetime pig welfare. Thus, measuring at the slaughterhouse can be recommended for use as an iceberg indicator of lifetime welfare of the pigs. It is also very useful for providing feedback on management success to farmers. To allow for benchmarking of tail lesion proportions, there is a need to develop a commonly adopted scoring system both for intact (enough) tails and for tail lesions.
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Abstract
Farmers in many countries rank deficiencies in feed composition and method of provision as among the most important risk factors for outbreaks of tail biting. Insufficient feeding space for the group when pigs are either meal-fed in long troughs or fed ad libitum from hoppers can result in sudden-forceful tail biting due to aggressive competition and frustration from inability to access feed. This is exacerbated by dividing the daily ration into many small meals, or by breakdowns or outages precluding an expected feed delivery. Deficits in the supply of energy, protein, minerals or micronutrients will induce a state of general or specific metabolic hunger which increases foraging motivation. In the absence of appropriate substrate in the environment, foraging behaviour can be redirected to penmates to cause two-stage tail biting. Hunger may be mitigated by dietary inclusion of some forms of fibre, but excessive dietary fibre may impair intake and digestion of other nutrients. Deficiencies or imbalances of some key amino acids can impair the synthesis of influential brain neurotransmitters regulating feeding, exploration and mood. This might exacerbate conditions predisposing biting and may contribute to development of pathological obsessive tail biting. Amino acid requirements are increased by high genetic lean growth potential or the presence of dietary antinutrients, and deficiencies or imbalances may also be induced by health challenges and gut inflammatory conditions. Other hypothesised mechanisms for dietary effects on tail biting risk include stress-induced changes in sodium metabolism, and behaviour and mood modification induced by microbiome dysbiosis via the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Further research is needed to elucidate these mechanisms and to indicate potential dietary interventions which can prevent and terminate damaging tail biting.
Abstract
The suffering of tail damage and the expression of behaviours associated with tail biting are influenced by factors inherent to the pig itself. When the influence of environmental, nutritional and pig-related factors is high, manipulative behaviour on group mates may evolve into an outbreak of detrimental behaviour. Individual pig-related factors, including sex type, growth, susceptibility to stress, microbiota composition and health, are often studied – indeed, increasingly so. Some are expected to be more significant than others, and studies accounting for several of these factors at a time should be undertaken. In this chapter, we will describe the internal factors that explain why pigs move from normal behaviour to this abnormal behaviour towards conspecific group members. We emphasise genetic factors in tail biting associated behaviours. Both direct and indirect effects determine an animals potential to tail bite or to be tail bitten, and they are expressed by each pig. Indirect effects refer to a pig’s influence on the tail biting associated behaviours of other pigs it is housed with. The performance of tail biting associated behaviours also relates to previous experience within the group, and to previous developmental stages, with strong effects suspected to be present in the early developmental phase, notably exposure to stress. Epigenetics therefore undoubtedly has a role to play here. Progress needs to be made on the characterisation of animals, including measuring their behaviour over the long term so that sporadic events of tail biting are captured. Relevant analytical models for this are available. The continuous recording of animal and environmental data (incl. social context), and the development of integrated analyses of large populations accounting for internal factors are essential if we are to find solutions that reduce the prevalence of tail biting in pigs.