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Can we measure a pig’s emotional state?

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APRIL supported project (5A – 113)

Title: Brain Measures of Positive Welfare in Pigs

Lead Researcher: Professor Alan Tilbrook (University of Queensland)

Although we may generally know if a pig is feeling happy, stressed or bored through behavioural indicators, it can be challenging to measure these responses accurately when conducting research on emotional states. In this pilot study, researchers wanted to work out if the emotional state of a pig, both long term and short term positive and negative experiences, could be measured using different biological markers (Biomarkers). 

What were the Biomarkers tested? 

  •   Cortisol, a hormone commonly released in mammalian stress response. 
  •   The NEAT1 gene, which may play a role in how the brain responds to a negative stress or positive stimulation. 
  •   Mid Infrared Spectroscopy (MIR) to measure chemical changes in the brain. 

Research Question: Can any of these biomarkers (cortisol, NEAT1 or MIR) identify whether pigs experience positive, negative or neutral emotional states and therefore can the biomarkers be used to assess the quality of life in pigs? 

What did they do: 

The pigs were split into one of three treatment groups for over four weeks: 

  1. Neutral Group: Standard on farm conditions. 
  2. Positive Group: Lots of positive handling and high-quality enrichment materials (greater than standard conditions). 
  3. Negative Group: Regularly moved and mixed with unfamillar pigs to trigger a mild stress response. 

At the end of four weeks, 36 pigs from each group were selected for futher assessment. Half of the selected group were briefly restrained with a snout snare to stimulate a short term stress, while the other half were left undisturbed. Saliva, blood plasma and brain tissue of subjects were collected to look for biological differences of both the long term and short term emotional conditions. 

Snapshot of Key Findings: 

For pigs that experienced a short-term stress event (snout snare restraint), the level of NEAT1 gene in the saliva was lower, and the level of cortisol was higher. However, the presence of this NEAT1 gene did not differ much between pigs housed in either neutral, positive or disruptive environmental conditions. 

In fact, non of the bio-markers: cortisol, NEAT1 or MIR could succesfully detect long term emotional states between treatment groups in this pilot study. 

Notably, pigs in the disruptive/negative environment grew slower than pigs in positive or neutral environments. 

Relevance to Industry: 

While more research is needed in this area, the outcomes suggest the NEAT1 gene could become a useful, non-invasive biomarker for measuring acute stress in pigs through saliva sampling. With ongoing research into this area, it is hoped industry will one day gain a clearer, more objective measure of detecting emotional states of pigs for future.

Project Summary

Full Report  

Turning Waste into Feed: The Next Step for Sustainable Pig Production?

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APRIL supported project (6A-105)

Title: Food Waste to Pig Feed – Safe and Biosecure

Lead Researcher: Dr Valeria Torok (South Australian Research and Development Institute).

Due to the risk of introducing emergency animal diseases, the feeding of any feed waste product to pigs is usually prohibited in Australia. But what if the food could be processed to make it completely safe? This was the challenge set by the End Food Waste CRC-P, a cooperative research program aiming to tackle Australia’s rising landfill problem by finding sustainable ways to repurpose biological feed waste.

Research Aim: To identify food safety, biosecurity risks, and economic feasibility of converting mixed human food waste into safe pig feed.

A regional Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) was conducted across five Australian pig producing areas in Australia. The TEA assessed both wet and dry feeding systems to evaluate the practical and economic viability of converting food waste into a bio-secure ingredient compared with standard grain-based diet.

Alongside the TEA, a pilot study was undertaken with weaner pigs fed either a 100% standard commercial feed, or an 80% standard commercial feed plus 20% bio-secure waste. Food waste was macerated, heated to 100°C, dewatered, dried and milled (<3mm) before being incorporated into the diet.

Figure 1. Process of treating mixed food waste into a dry feed ingredient. The material was initially macerated/shredded and then heat treated, dewatered, dried and milled into a feed ingredient.

Snapshot of key findings:

  • The TEA identified approximately 373,000 tonnes per year of untapped food waste from commercial and industrial sources across five major pig producing regions in Australia. 

  • Wet feed production was found to be feasible in all areas investigated, with dry feed ingredient production being feasible only on the eastern seaboard.

  • The four-week weaner trial found no significant differences in performance or faecal amino acid digestibility of weaner pigs fed a 20% mixed food waste additive compared to those fed only a commercial weaner diet.

Australia currently lacks the legislative framework to support uptake by both the food and livestock industries. Safe implementation will therefore require the development of policy and legislative frameworks.

Project Summary
Full Report
 
This work has been supported by the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre whose activities are funded by the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Program.

Rethinking the Grind: Can Coarser Feed Support Better Fetal Development?

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APRIL supported project (5A-111)

Title: Escaping the Daily Grind: Coarser Ground Diets for Improved Fetal Growth

Lead Researcher: Dr Kate Plush (SunPork Group)

When it comes to feeding sows in gestation, we often focus on nutrient levels, energy content, and feed efficiency. But new insights suggest something as simple as the grind size of feed could have a surprising impact on piglet development before birth.  

Coarser feed particles, unlike finer ones, tend to pass through the small intestine relatively undigested, reaching the hindgut intact. Once there, the feed particles are a fermentable substrate for beneficial gut microbes. This process, call hindgut fermentation, produces short-chain-fatty-acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which has been linked to improved fetal growth in previous rat studies. 

Research Question: Could feeding sows a coarser ground diet throughout gestation (standard gestational diet with 40% feed particles >1mm) affect growth and development of piglets in utero? 

In this series of projects, sows were fed either a coarsely ground diet (40% feed particles greater than 1mm) or Control diet (30% feed particles greater than 1mm). Each sow was fed 2.1kg per day via electronic sow feeder, or 2.4kg per day for thinner sows (P2 backfat less than 16mm).

 

Figure 1. Gestating sows fed either a coarsely ground diet (40% particles > 1mm) on the left or Control diet (30% particles > 1mm) on the right-hand side.

Snapshot of key findings:

  • Coarser particle diets increased short chain fatty acid production in the feaces and serum of gestating sows, with a tendency for increased serum butyrate. 
  • Sows fed the coarser diet had fewer low birthweight piglets.
  • Supplementing coarser diets with an exogenous enzyme led to increased litter sizes, supporting greater sow productivity. 
Further work is required to determine the exact mechanism(s) by which a coarser diet fed to gestating sows reduced the impact of low birthweight piglets. Additionally, there may be other benefits to feeding larger grain particles to sows not quantified in this project.     

 See Project Summary 

 See Full Report 

Research Snapshot: Development of a ‘healthy pork’ resource for use by consumers, health professionals and regulatory bodies: summary and dissemination of Pork CRC human nutrition research

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APRIL has received a Final Report for project 3B-114, Development of a ‘healthy pork’ resource for use by consumers, health professionals and regulatory bodies: summary and dissemination of Pork CRC human nutrition research, by Dr Karen Murphy at the University of South Australia. This was a project supported initially through the Pork CRC but contracted through APRIL. The Cooperative Research Centre for High Integrity Australian Pork funded 16 projects under the ‘Healthy Pork Consumption’ program from 2005 to 2019, with the aims to explore potential health benefits of pork and drivers and barriers to consumption. The main summary points highlighted by Dr Murphy are as follows:

  1. Fresh lean pork is a core food item of the meat, fish, poultry, nuts and legumes group (Australian Guide to Healthy Eating & Mediterranean Dietary Pattern).
  2. A 65 g serve of fresh lean pork provides 15 g of protein, 1 mg thiamine, 0.6 mg iron, 1.1 mg zinc.
  3. Fresh lean pork is rich in essential amino acids (leucine and isoleucine) for building muscle for body strength and functional capacity in the elderly.
  4. Fresh lean pork contains key nutrients important for growth and development.
  5. Fresh lean pork can be included as part of a healthy dietary pattern for weight loss, diabetes and blood pressure management, mood, vitality, quality of life, quality of sleep and general health.
  6. Fresh lean pork can be included as part of a predominantly plant-based diet like the Mediterranean diet, which may preserve cognitive function.
  7. When cooked appropriately, fresh pork is juicy and tender and provides excellent overall eating experience.
  8. 37% of Australian adults eat pork. Of those individuals, less than a quarter (21%) ate fresh pork.
  9. 51% of Australian children eat pork. Of those children, only 14% ate fresh pork, hence there is room for improvement.

Taken together, this research identified specific population groups which required further education on fresh pork:

  • Parents – family recipes, cooking tips, convenient packaging, meal planning guides and kid friendly recipes;
  • Low pork consumers;
  • Non-Asian consumers – more Western-like dishes conforming with plant-based dietary recommendations.

The Final Report has been circulated to Australian Pork Limited and the New Zealand Pork Industry Board.