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The EU project Welfare Quality® proposes an overall assessment system for animal welfare based on animal outcomes. The objective of this study was to test inter-observer reliability (IOR) when assessing lameness, fear and slipping and falling scores as parameters for monitoring the welfare of killing pigs during arrival at the slaughterhouse. Two Belgian and two Spanish slaughterhouses were visited by six to seven observers. Lameness, slipping and falling were assessed twice; during unloading and in the passageway to the lairage zone (lairage). Fear, which was assessed in the unloading area, was based on four indicators: reluctance to move, retreat attempts, turning back and vocalisations. Lameness had low-to-moderate IOR when observed in the passageway to lairage (r=0.46), but the IOR was low during unloading (r=0.25). IOR for slipping and falling was moderate to high (r=0.71 and r=0.50, respectively), when assessed in the unloading area, but low for observations in the passageway (r=0.13). Fear indicators had only moderate or low IOR. Turning back was the measure with the highest IOR (r=0.43) and retreat attempts had the lowest IOR (r=0.25). Based on these results, we concluded that scoring lameness could be reliable when assessed from the unloading bay to lairage, whereas slipping and falling should be scored in the unloading area of the slaughterhouse. We suggest scoring a maximum of two measures of fear on the same animals at the unloading area, with the most reliable parameters being turning back and reluctance to move. The three indicators of animal welfare (lameness, fear and slipping and falling) should be measured in a way to reduce overtax of the observers in order to achieve accurate results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene (Cbg) encoding cortisol-binding globulin (CBG) has been proposed as a candidate gene to explain genetic variation in cortisol secretion and carcass composition in pigs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between CBG and pork quality in 5 European breeding lines, Piétrain, Large White (LW), and Landrace purebred lines, a Duroc synthetic line, and a Meishan (MS) × LW advanced intercros s. Cortisol-binding globulin maximum binding capacity (CBG-Bmax) was twice as high (P < 0.05) in MS × LW pigs compared with the other lines. There was no (P ≥ 0.364) association between CBG-Bmax and carcass quality traits in Piétrain gilts, but CBG-Bmax was associated with increased loin yields in LW (P = 0.010) and Landrace (P = 0.103) gilts, decreased ham yields (P = 0.082) in Duroc guts, and increased fat depth (P = 0.064) and leaf fat (P = 0.001) in MS × LW guts. There was no association between CBG-Bmax and pork quality traits in Piétrain (P ≥ 0.269) and Duroc (P ≥ 0.114) gilts. Conversely, CBG-Bmax was associated with lighter (higher L* values; P < 0.05) pork in Land-race guts, as well as lower (P ≤ 0.055) ultimate pH in the LM and semimembranosus, and a tendency for lower (P = 0.095) L* values of pork from LW gilts. Within MS × LW pigs, CBG-Bmax was associated with increased drip loss (P = 0.001) and decreased i.m. fat in the semimembranosus (P = 0.005). Because drip loss is an economically important pork quality trait, results of this study could be used in the selection of improved water-holding capacity of pork from synthetic lines involving the MS breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which described the behavioral and psychological responses of pigs to shot biopsy, an experimental method used to study muscle tissue processes or to predict meat quality. Materials and methods; Results and discussion.

The responses of pigs to being driven and mixed together in lairage were investigated. Five groups of six and five groups of seven 70 kg pigs were transported for 40 minutes on a lorry and then subjected to one of the following treatments: two groups were driven down a passage; four groups (A to D) were mixed together for one hour (A and B together, and C and D together); and, four groups were driven down the passage and then mixed (‘combined treatment’). The pigs' behaviour was recorded, skin damage was scored and saliva samples were taken for analysis of cortisol. The initial journey increased the pigs' salivary concentration of cortisol. Their behaviour while being driven was not correlated with the concentrations of cortisol after they were driven and cortisol concentrations did not increase relative to post-transport levels. The frequency and duration of fighting when they were mixed were positively correlated with their level of aggression in the home pen and with the increase in concentrations of cortisol when they were mixed. One hour after they had been mixed, the concentrations of cortisol had decreased relative to post-transport levels. After the combined treatment, the correlations observed for the mixing treatment were absent, and the concentrations of cortisol increased relative to post-transport levels. Skin damage was greatest after the groups of pigs were mixed. The responses observed indicate that the combined effects of driving and mixing, which are very common in lairage, were greater than the effects of driving or mixing alone. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]