Video of pig whipping at Iowa State Fair raises the question: Do pigs feel pain?
Lee RoodA Des Moines man’s ejection from the Iowa State Fair for life after he confronted the fair's top manager over a boy beating a pig with a show stick triggered some readers to ask about proper handling of pigs and if the animals feel pain.
Here are some answers:
Handling a pig
In competition, youths are encouraged to use their show sticks to guide pigs — but only on the side of their body from their shoulder to their flank.
No one handling a pig should hit them on their butt, hocks or head to get them to move.
Pigs and pain
Much research exists showing pigs are highly intelligent animals that feel pain similar to humans, and that pigs squeal when they sense pain.
One 2016 study published in Frontiers of Veterinary Science named inept handling as one way hogs can be injured. The researchers said pigs “vocalize when painful areas are palpated but resent handling and may vocalize regardless of pain.”
Pain and production
Proper handling of swine is not only important to animal welfare; it affects production and a producer's bottom line.
Research has show pain inhibits reproductive performance, and the meat of pigs who are stressed is damaged by that stress.
According to the Pork Information Gateway, created for producers in the U.S. pork industry, handling is stressful to all pigs under the best of conditions.
“An animal handler’s primary objective is to minimize the animals’ level of fear and therefore their negative stress by maximizing positive interactions while encouraging the animal to move to the target location,” the guide says.
Loading a pig is a stressor for the animal, which can be made worse when an animal is isolated.
The National Pork Board years ago started a voluntary program for producers to evaluate and improve the welfare of hogs in production in the U.S.
The board encourages people to report “willful acts of abuse or neglect” on livestock farms, calling them unacceptable.
Numerous Iowans ask:Will State Fair take action on pig abuse that was caught on video?
Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@dmreg.com or 515-284-8549. Follow her on Twitter at @leerood and on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.
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