![]() Negative interactions that cause fear mean the escape reactions of the pigs can be extremely vigorous, thereby risking injury to both stock and handlers. Overly heavy tactile interactions can cause increased basal cortisol levels (a "stress" hormone). These interactions can result in fear in the animals, which can develop into stress. However, it is not a commonly held view that death is a negative interaction. Negative interactions include overly heavy tactile interactions (slaps, punches, kicks, and bites), the use of electric goads and fast movements. ![]() Because of this, many handlers can become complacent about animal welfare and fail to ensure positive interactions with pigs. Many negative interactions with pigs arise from stock-people dealing with large numbers of pigs. These reactions are based on how the pigs interpret a handler's behavior. There are various methods of handling pigs which can be separated into those which lead to positive or negative reactions by the animals. Many routine interactions can cause fear, which can result in stress and decreased production. The way in which a stockperson interacts with pigs affects animal welfare which in some circumstances can correlate with production measures. Nonetheless, the favorable ratio often tends to make pork affordable relative to beef. However, there are also many other economic variables in meat production and distribution, so the price differential of pork and beef at the point of retail sale does not always correspond closely to the differential in feed conversion ratios. Īmong meat animals, pigs have a lower feed conversion ratio than cattle, which can provide an advantage in lower unit price of meat because the cost of animal feed per kilogram or pound of resultant meat is lower. Older pigs will consume eleven to nineteen litres (three to five US gallons) of water per day. As an example, more than half of Canadian production (22.8 million pigs) in 2008 was exported, going to 143 countries. The largest exporters of pigs are the United States, the European Union, and Canada. Despite having the world's largest herd, China is a net importer of pigs, and has been increasing its imports during its economic development. Pigs are farmed in many countries, though the main consuming countries are in Asia, meaning there is a significant international and even intercontinental trade in live and slaughtered pigs. Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization Preparations of pig parts into specialties include: sausage (and casings made from the intestines), bacon, gammon, ham, skin into pork scratchings, feet into trotters, head into a meat jelly called head cheese (brawn), and consumption of the liver, chitterlings, and blood (blood pudding or brown pudding). 3 Relationship between handlers and pigsĪlmost all of the pig can be used as food.The majority of pigs are used for human food, but also supply skin, fat and other materials for use in clothing, ingredients for processed foods, cosmetics, and medical use. Pigs are a popular form of livestock, with more than one billion pigs butchered each year worldwide, 100 million in the United States. In developed nations, commercial farms house thousands of pigs in climate-controlled buildings. Īll these forms of pig farm are in use today, though intensive farms are by far the most popular, due to their potential to raise a large amount of pigs in a very cost-efficient manner. Pigs have been farmed to dispose of municipal garbage on a large scale. They were valued as a source of meat and fat, and for their ability to convert inedible food into meat and manure, and were often fed household food waste when kept on a homestead. Historically, farm pigs were kept in small numbers and were closely associated with the residence of the owner, or in the same village or town. Pigs are amenable to many different styles of farming: intensive commercial units, commercial free range enterprises, or extensive farming (being allowed to wander around a village, town or city, or tethered in a simple shelter or kept in a pen outside the owner's house). Pigs are farmed principally for food (e.g. Pig farming or pork farming or hog farming is the raising and breeding of domestic pigs as livestock, and is a branch of animal husbandry. Interior of pig farm at Bjärka-Säby Castle, Sweden, 1911
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