Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol

Smallholder pig farms are an important feature of pork supply in Asia, and these farming approaches present unique management considerations. This survey was conducted to pilot a welfare assessment protocol and to investigate smallholder pig management and welfare at two sites in Vietnam, one with 5...

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Autores principales: Sinh Dang-Xuan, Le Thi Thanh Huyen, Tu-Quynh Ha, Do Van Duc, Le Tien Dung, Han Anh Tuan, Unger, Fred, Doyle, Rebecca, Toribio, J.-A.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176659
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author Sinh Dang-Xuan
Le Thi Thanh Huyen
Tu-Quynh Ha
Do Van Duc
Le Tien Dung
Han Anh Tuan
Unger, Fred
Doyle, Rebecca
Toribio, J.-A.
author_browse Do Van Duc
Doyle, Rebecca
Han Anh Tuan
Le Thi Thanh Huyen
Le Tien Dung
Sinh Dang-Xuan
Toribio, J.-A.
Tu-Quynh Ha
Unger, Fred
author_facet Sinh Dang-Xuan
Le Thi Thanh Huyen
Tu-Quynh Ha
Do Van Duc
Le Tien Dung
Han Anh Tuan
Unger, Fred
Doyle, Rebecca
Toribio, J.-A.
author_sort Sinh Dang-Xuan
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Smallholder pig farms are an important feature of pork supply in Asia, and these farming approaches present unique management considerations. This survey was conducted to pilot a welfare assessment protocol and to investigate smallholder pig management and welfare at two sites in Vietnam, one with 55 farms raising predominantly indigenous pigs (the Da Bac site) and the other 55 farms raising predominantly non-indigenous pigs (the Lac Son site). Farmers at both sites kept small numbers of confined pigs, with more keeping sows in Da Bac and some keeping only grower pigs in Lac Son. Via an interview and pig observation, data on 18 welfare measures were recorded for adult pigs, suckling piglets and grower pigs. Pigs on > 90% of farms did not exhibit panting, tail biting, scouring, negative social behaviour, stereotypic behaviour, coughing or lameness demonstrating adequate welfare for these welfare measures. However, all pigs on > 50% of farms had restricted access to drinking water at both sites, and pigs often displayed fear of humans in the Da Bac site. The body condition of most pigs was thin or very thin among the sows on 31% of farms and among the grower pigs on 32% of farms. This pilot proved that the welfare assessment protocol is feasible and provided lessons for its future use in other low-to-middle income countries. It also found that low-cost interventions are urgently needed to address water access and undernutrition in order to improve the welfare of smallholder pigs and the production of these farms.
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spelling CGSpace1766592025-11-12T04:31:46Z Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol Sinh Dang-Xuan Le Thi Thanh Huyen Tu-Quynh Ha Do Van Duc Le Tien Dung Han Anh Tuan Unger, Fred Doyle, Rebecca Toribio, J.-A. animal welfare swine Smallholder pig farms are an important feature of pork supply in Asia, and these farming approaches present unique management considerations. This survey was conducted to pilot a welfare assessment protocol and to investigate smallholder pig management and welfare at two sites in Vietnam, one with 55 farms raising predominantly indigenous pigs (the Da Bac site) and the other 55 farms raising predominantly non-indigenous pigs (the Lac Son site). Farmers at both sites kept small numbers of confined pigs, with more keeping sows in Da Bac and some keeping only grower pigs in Lac Son. Via an interview and pig observation, data on 18 welfare measures were recorded for adult pigs, suckling piglets and grower pigs. Pigs on > 90% of farms did not exhibit panting, tail biting, scouring, negative social behaviour, stereotypic behaviour, coughing or lameness demonstrating adequate welfare for these welfare measures. However, all pigs on > 50% of farms had restricted access to drinking water at both sites, and pigs often displayed fear of humans in the Da Bac site. The body condition of most pigs was thin or very thin among the sows on 31% of farms and among the grower pigs on 32% of farms. This pilot proved that the welfare assessment protocol is feasible and provided lessons for its future use in other low-to-middle income countries. It also found that low-cost interventions are urgently needed to address water access and undernutrition in order to improve the welfare of smallholder pigs and the production of these farms. 2025-11 2025-09-24T15:11:34Z 2025-09-24T15:11:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176659 en Open Access application/pdf Springer Sinh Dang-Xuan, Le Thi Thanh Huyen, Tu-Quynh Ha, Do Van Duc, Le Tien Dung, Han Anh Tuan, Unger, F., Doyle, R. and Toribio, J.-A. 2025. Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol. Tropical Animal Health and Production 57(8): 392.
spellingShingle animal welfare
swine
Sinh Dang-Xuan
Le Thi Thanh Huyen
Tu-Quynh Ha
Do Van Duc
Le Tien Dung
Han Anh Tuan
Unger, Fred
Doyle, Rebecca
Toribio, J.-A.
Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol
title Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol
title_full Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol
title_fullStr Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol
title_short Assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in Vietnam using a pilot protocol
title_sort assessing the welfare of smallholder pigs in vietnam using a pilot protocol
topic animal welfare
swine
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176659
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