AN ANALGESIA BASED DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SOW REMOVALS FOR LAMENESS

摘要

Measures to alleviate pain and to avoid painful conditions deserve a high place in swine farming on welfare grounds. Pain is a major characteristic feature of poor well-being. Despite the prevalence of many painful conditions, the use of analgesics infood animals like the pigs is very restricted. Unfortunately, a quantitative measure to recognize and assess animal pain is yet to be developed. Slaughter or euthanasia often is the most effective measure to end an animal's pain in situations where analgesics are not used, or when analgesics are not effective. Nevertheless, the difficulty in most cases of compromised welfare need not be in recognizing that welfare is compromised but is in assessing the point beyond which it is correct to slaughter or euthanize the sow. At present, producers are left with no tool to decide if and when to treat or euthanize the affected animals. This often results in high mortality rate following production events like farrowing, causing significant negative impact bothon welfare and economic performance of the herd.