'They're very intelligent animals': Researchers examine signs of stress in pigs' hair
A team of researchers at the University of Saskatchewan has been examining pigs' hair for signs of stress.
Yolande Seddon, assistant professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), said the research will be valuable for husbandry.
“We have been running trials where we're looking at pigs in different housing systems, and under different treatments that we are exploring, if there are different stress measures — how their behaviour response is, or other indicators of animal welfare; showing up and measuring the hair over specific periods of time to see if there are relationships between the hormones in the hair, and what we see as indicators of animal welfare and performance,” Seddon told CTV News.
The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) website says that stress produces two key chemicals, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) hormones. These collect in the hair, which is what researchers can use as they study stress in swine.
“Lots of times when we look at welfare or assessable fare, we kind of look at what we think is positive or negative. So this environment we think is better or worse. But we don't really have like a good objective measure to evaluate. If we can get something like an objective indicator of their welfare, I think it'd be really valuable,” Ph.D. student Darian Pollock said.
Seddon said they were now analyzing the data that has been collected and they hope to have the results later this year or early in 2024.
“We've done a lot of longitudinal trials where we've tracked animals all the way from birth to slaughter and in different conditions,” Seddon said.
“They're very intelligent animals. I think there's much to be discovered about them and how we can care for them to ensure we have good farming practices and respect their needs as an animal.”
The study is part of a collaboration with WCVM and Iowa State University, the U of S website said.
Funding for the study was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the WCVM’s interprovincial undergraduate summer research program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.