Roch, Lea; Ewaoluwagbemiga, Esther Oluwada; Kasper, Claudia (2023). Phenotypic link between protein efficiency and pig welfare suggests no apparent trade-offs for mitigating nitrogen pollution. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p. 14299. Nature Publishing Group 10.1038/s41598-023-41232-z
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Pig manure contributes significantly to environmental pollution through nitrogen compounds. Reducing protein in feed can help, but it may lead to damaging behaviors if pigs' nutritional needs are not met. Breeding pigs for higher protein efficiency (PE) is a long-term solution to reduce nitrogen pollution, but concerns about pig welfare remain. We studied 95 pigs involved in a project on the genetic basis of PE on a 20% protein restricted diet to investigate the phenotypic connection between PE and welfare. These pigs represented natural PE variations in the population. At around 100 days, before their PE was known, we observed their behaviors. Only three pigs engaged in tail biting and manipulation of vulnerable regions, but this was not associated with PE. There was no clear link between PE and manipulating pen mates' less vulnerable regions. Such behaviors are normal but can cause stress and injury if carried out excessively due to boredom or stress. Overall, pigs with higher PE showed no major behavioral abnormalities in this study. Considering the lack of genetic knowledge, the risk of increased harmful behaviors when selecting for higher PE appears low when inferred from this purely phenotypic association.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Veterinary Public Health Institute > Animal Welfare Division 05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) |
ISSN: |
2045-2322 |
Publisher: |
Nature Publishing Group |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Pubmed Import |
Date Deposited: |
01 Sep 2023 10:17 |
Last Modified: |
29 Oct 2023 02:22 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1038/s41598-023-41232-z |
PubMed ID: |
37652949 |
Additional Information: |
Lea Roch hat keine Rolle bei VPH |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/185962 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/185962 |
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