The Welfare of Pigs : A Seminar in the EEC Programme of Coordination of Research on Animal Welfare Held in Brussels, November 25–26, 1980

In Europe, at the present time, there is a growing concern about the welfare of animals kept for production purpose. Technical advancements make it possible to produce more and more efficiently. However, the basic requirements for animal well-being are not always taken into account, partly because they need to be defined more precisely in order to be able to implement them. In the meeting on the welfare of pigs, organised under the supervision of the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate General for Agriculture, Division for the Coordination of Agricultural Research, scientists from all over Western Europe brought together relevant experimental data of physiological, veterinary, ethological and economic origin for a multidisciplinary discussion on this subject. The results of research studies were also reviewed in the light of possible practical applications and future research. The meeting was a fruitful first step in bringing together different opinions in order to arrive at a universally acceptable common solution for modern pig production. W. Sybesma SESSION I BEHAVIOURAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS OF PIGS IN GENERAL I. BASIC NEEDS Chairman: J.P. Signoret BEHAVIOURAL AND REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES IN WILD FORMS OF Sus scrota (EUROPEAN WILD BOAR AND FERAL PIGS) R. Mauget Centre d'Etudes Biologiques des Animaux Sauvages, 79360 Beauvoir, France. Front Matter....Pages I-IX Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Behavioural and Reproductive Strategies in Wild Forms of Sus scrofa (European Wild Boar and Feral Pigs)....Pages 3-15 Influence of Fixation on the Behaviour of Sows....Pages 16-32 Physiology and Behaviour of Young Pigs in Relation to the Environment....Pages 33-45 Animal Welfare in Agriculture — A Challenge for the Ethology....Pages 46-50 Front Matter....Pages 51-51 Can Physiological Criteria be Used to Assess Welfare in Pigs?....Pages 53-74 Parameters for Assessing Welfare, Ethological Criteria....Pages 75-94 Losses Due to Inheritance and Housing as Criteria for the Welfare of Pigs....Pages 95-111 The Development of A Blood Profile for Stress Assessment....Pages 112-131 Front Matter....Pages 139-139 Observations on the Effects of Stocking Rate on the Performance of Gilts and Boars to Bacon Weight....Pages 141-151 Characteristics of Pig Fattening Systems Involving Partially Slatted Floors....Pages 152-170 Open Front Piggeries with and Without Straw....Pages 171-181 Front Matter....Pages 183-183 Welfare of Piglets in Flatdeck-Cages....Pages 185-197 Animal Well-Being and Housing Systems for Piglets....Pages 198-209 Short Communication....Pages 210-210 Danish Studies on Behaviour of Early Weaned Piglets: Preliminary Results....Pages 211-225 Front Matter....Pages 235-235 Exogenous Stimuli and Reproduction of the Sow....Pages 237-249 Some Aspects of Sow Health and Housing....Pages 250-266 Front Matter....Pages 267-267 The Impact of the Farrowing Pen on the Sow and Her Piglets....Pages 269-275 Welfare and The Housing of The Sow and Suckling Pigs....Pages 276-315 Front Matter....Pages 323-323 Summing Up and Conclusions....Pages 325-329 Back Matter....Pages 331-334