Assessment of pig welfare at slaughterhouse level: A systematic review of animal-based indicators suitable for inclusion in monitoring protocols

Pig welfare constitutes a strategic pillar of sustainability within the pork industry. Consequently, there is a need to identify, develop and/or validate indicators for assessing pig wellbeing under commercial conditions. A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines identified 95 pig welfare indi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Meat science 2025-02, Vol.220, p.109689, Article 109689
Main Authors: Huanca-Marca, Nancy F., Estévez-Moreno, Laura X., Espinosa, Natyieli Losada, Miranda-de la Lama, Genaro C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abattoirs
Animal Welfare
Animals
Artificial intelligence
Behavior, Animal
Humans
Iceberg indicators
Key performance indicators
Pig welfare indicators
Pork industry
PRISMA model
Swine
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Summary:Pig welfare constitutes a strategic pillar of sustainability within the pork industry. Consequently, there is a need to identify, develop and/or validate indicators for assessing pig wellbeing under commercial conditions. A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines identified 95 pig welfare indicators (PWIs) categorized into physiological, behavioral, health and post-mortem, and product quality. The review evaluated their validity and feasibility (V&F) for use in abattoirs to measure welfare during transport and slaughter. Thirty V&F indicators were found: one physiological (body temperature), 12 behavioral (human-animal relationship, aggression, falling, vocalization, slipping, panting, lying down, sitting, turning back), 13 health and post-mortem (presence of entry points, hernias, body lesions, ear lesions, tail lesions, pericarditis, pneumonia, bursitis, lameness, dead animals, walking and non-walking animals), and four product quality (pH, bruises, body condition, carcass weight). This information might help to identify the factors that affect the risk level of particular pig welfare problems, thereby aiding in the application of risk-based strategies.
ISSN:0309-1740
1873-4138
1873-4138
DOI:10.1016/j.meatsci.2024.109689