Researchers look to harness the emotional benefits of play to improve pig health and performance

By Bruce Cochrane, Farmscape

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the Prairie Swine Centre are exploring the prospects of using play to improve the emotional well being of pigs and improve their resilience and performance.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the Prairie Swine Center, with support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and 14 industry partners, are exploring the beneficial effects of play in growing pigs.

Karolina Steinerova, a PhD student, with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, says there is evidence that pigs with an enhanced welfare status maintain a positive mental state which could improve their health and performance.

“Contrary to the past, where an improvement of the living conditions focused on the elimination of negative experience such as pain, the research community has recently shifted its attention to the promotion of positive experiences. Play behavior is a good candidate to fulfil a roll of a positive experience for pigs as it is considered that play is positive as playing animals appear to be excited and having fun,
said Karolina Steinerova, Western College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Animals also engage in play in a stress-free environment when all other needs are fulfilled, therefore scientists assume that the animals have a good welfare state and play behavior could therefore have a positive effect on the mental well being of pigs. If we consider research in humans, a positive mindset has been linked to boosting immunity and reducing the incidence of illness for example. However, research about the promotion of positive emotional well being in pigs is in the early stages and there are many assumptions, therefore this project aims to narrow the knowledge gap and identify if play can be used as a tool to support positive welfare in the existing system and what are the benefits for production,” added Steinerova.

 Steinerova says this project offers a new approach by which the quality of life and performance of intensively farmed pigs can be enhanced through a means that resonates with consumers.

Sask Pork has a core funding agreement with Prairie Swine Centre (PSC), which delivers practical, research-based solutions for the hog industry. The funds provided are applied to four research pillars at PSC that focus on practical and innovative initiatives, graduate education, and knowledge transfer activities.

For more visit farmscape.ca.