Are Tail and Ear Movements Indicators of Emotions in Tail-Docked Pigs in Response to Environmental Enrichment?
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Author
Marcet-Rius, Míriam
Fàbrega, Emma
Cozzi, Alessandro
Bienboire-Frosini, Cécile
Descout, Estelle
Pageat, Patrick
Publication date
2019-07-16ISSN
2076-2615
Abstract
The inclusion of emotional indicators in farm monitoring methods can improve welfare
assessments. Studies in controlled conditions have suggested that increased tail movement is an
indicator of positive emotions in pigs, while others have proposed that increased ear movements are
linked to negative emotions. This study aimed to investigate these indicators in pig farm conditions
to analyze their validity and the e ect of enrichment on welfare. Thirty-six pigs received one of the
following enrichment materials: straw in a rack, wooden logs, or chains. Behavioral observations
were performed by focal sampling. The results showed that tail movement duration was significantly
higher when pigs exhibited “high use” (three or more pigs in a pen interacting with the enrichment)
than when they exhibited “low use” (fewer than three) of enrichment (p = 0.04). A positive correlation
was found between tail movement frequency and duration (r = 0.88; p = 0.02). The increase in tail
movement could be considered an indicator of positive emotions in pigs when measured with other
categories of indicators. Regarding ear movements, no significant di erence was found. Future
studies should further investigate these indicators thoroughly, as the results could be useful for
improving the assessment of emotions in pigs.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
Pages
12
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Animal
Citation
Marcet-Rius, M., Fàbrega, E., Cozzi, A., Bienboire-Frosini, C., Descout, E., Velarde, A. and Pageat, P. Marcet-Rius, Míriam, Emma Fàbrega, Alessandro Cozzi, Cécile Bienboire-Frosini, Estelle Descout, Antonio Velarde, and Patrick Pageat. 2019. "Are Tail And Ear Movements Indicators Of Emotions In Tail-Docked Pigs In Response To Environmental Enrichment?". Animals 9 (7): 449. MDPI AG. doi:10.3390/ani9070449.
Program
Benestar Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2838]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/