Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Veterinary Sciences, Zoology, acceleration, animal welfare, driver, driving style, pig, stress, HEART-RATE-VARIABILITY, ROAD TRANSPORT, MEAT QUALITY, MOTION, VIBRATION, SLAUGHTER, SICKNESS, BEHAVIOR, CORTISOL, 0608 Zoology, 0702 Animal Production, 0707 Veterinary Sciences, Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology, 3003 Animal production, 3009 Veterinary sciences, 3109 Zoology

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effect of driver and driving style on the behaviour, salivary cortisol concentration, and heart-rate variability of pigs during a short journey. In addition, the effect of differing accelerations (longitudinal, lateral, and vertical) of the trailer on these variables was studied. One hundred and thirty-five cross-bred pigs (Piétrain x Hypor) were transported in groups of five on a trailer towed by a jeep. Three different drivers transported the pigs using a normal, a quiet, and a wild driving style (the latter two in relation to their normal style). Driving style mainly had an effect on the longitudinal and lateral accelerations. Salivary cortisol increases were lowest for the wild driving style. The latter can be explained by the shorter duration of these journeys and not by the accelerations, thus it is our view that acceleration due to manoeuvring as opposed to acceleration due to overall speed should be avoided. Also, in practice, journeys should take as brief a time as possible. Increasing acceleration saw an increase in the proportion of pigs standing during the journey and a decrease in the proportion of pigs lying down. Measurements of variability in heart rate revealed that lateral acceleration was an important stressor for pigs. We concluded that, as driving style has an effect on different stress variables, increased driver awareness of the effects of their driving on the responses of pigs, would improve pig welfare. © 2008 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.