PigWatch – combining the eye of the stockman and precision farming techniques to improve pig welfare
Résumé
Despite decades of intensive research on injurious behaviours like aggression and tail biting in pigs, these problems persist on many farms. In Europe, stricter enforcement of legislation against routine tail docking puts additional pressure on farmers, and researchers are asked to find solutions. However, remedial measures are dependent on early diagnosis of the problem. The European PigWatch Project (https://pigwatch.net, Anihwa ERA-Net) aims to sensitize stock persons to early signs which predict injurious behaviours and to develop automatic measurement techniques that could help farmers to manage their herd. We developed, tested
and adapted an on-farm observation protocol in the five participating countries of the project (Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark) to train stock persons to observe their animals in a different way. The use of the protocol by the farmers showed that the position of the tail (tucked, hanging or curled) seems to be a good indicator for underlying problems that might culminate in harmful behaviour. Some farmers state that using the protocol changed the way they look at their animals. Furthermore, as increased behavioural activity is a clear sign for ongoing aggressive acts, a sensor is being developed in France measuring animal activity and sending an alarm when detecting a sustained fighting. In a first test, the behaviour of 32 pigs (4 pens with 8 pigs each, 110-150 days of age) was observed for 30 h via video and annotated for episodes of fighting (head knock, biting). Three pigs per pen (n=12) were equipped with the activity sensor via an ear tag and alarms were compared with the video analyses. Results showed that the sensors detected 42% of the fighting, with 62% true positives. Its sensitivity and specificity will be improved through additional observations and recordings. Moreover, the sensor will be tested soon on-farm in Germany. In addition to the advantages on the farms, these technologies should enable standardised and efficient animal monitoring. The project will end in 2019, with tools to help farmers to identify early signs of aggression and tail biting in their pigs.