The Rural Voice, 2001-08, Page 16There's a payoff for
having a good
relationships with
your farm animals,
Australian researcher
Paul Hemsworth told
pork producers at a
conference in
Shakespeare. July 6 — or
at least there's a
productivity penalty if
your actions cause stress
in animals.
Hemsworth. who does
research with the Animal
Welfare Centre at the
University of Melbourne
and into Natural
Resources and
Environment at the
Victorian Institute of
Animal Science, at
Werribee, said animals
that feel stress do not
perform as well and that
stress can be caused by
fear of the humans who
work with them.
"The pig industry
doesn't recognize the
value of the people working with pigs," Hemsworth said.
When he first began talking about human/animal
interaction, the subject was dismissed by most people in
the industry, but there is increasing recognition that the
human factor is the most limiting factor to productivity.
After comparing the activity of workers on farms with the
productivity differences from farm to farm, Hemsworth's
researchers calculated that up to 20 per centof the variation
in productivity from one farm to another could be caused
by the way workers handled pigs.
.While Hemsworth was speaking to pork producers, the
same results seem evident for other livestock sectors. After
workers handling dairy cattle were given training in better
handling methods, there was a five per cent improvement
in milk yield within three months, he said.
The problem stems from the fact that animals which are
frightened produce hormones such as cortisol — hormones
for which Hemsworth's researchers tested to measure the
level of stress during lab experiments. Animals which are
frightened too often, develop chronic stress response,
which prevents them from growing or reproducing at the
levels farmers want.
Handling is the easiest way to induce chronic stress
response, Hemsworth said. "Pigs are very sensitive to our
behaviour." Threatening posture and noise both created
negative response from pigs.
Researchers visited different farms and recorded
negative behavior of handlers, from slaps and hits to
shouting to fast movements and unexpected movements —
many of which were regarded by the workers as routine
behavior. They found that a moderate slap could be just as
stressful to the pig as a forceful slap.
The golden gentle touch
Animal experts say there's money to be
gained in gentle handling that saves your
animals fear and stress
By Keith. Roulston
12 THE RURAL VOICE
On the other hand,
positive behaviour by
stockpeople included
patting the animal and
talking to it. "Talking is
an important interaction
with animals,"
Hemsworth said.
Researchers found that
someone moving a sow
down a passage resting a
hand on her back and
moving her in a slow,
deliberate manner,
caused less anxiety in
the pig. It actually takes
less time to handle pigs
ith good behaviour, he
said.
The researchers
tabulated all interactions
of the 46 stockpeople
with the pigs and found
a wide variation from 20
to 30 per cent
interactions that could
be termed negative, to a
high of 85 per cent. This
extreme wasn't cruelty,
just moderate slaps and
hits, he said.
Fear responses among animals are learned responses,
Hemsworth said. The animals learn to fear because of the
consequences of their association with noises or actions.
The good news is that stockpeople can be taught methods
of handling animals that can reduce stress and increase
productivity.
But if productivity is affected by fear in the animals and
fear is created by the actions of human handlers, those
actions are governed by the attitudes of the stockpeople,
Hemsworth said.
"What we think about using negative behaviour really
influences our behaviour," he said. Researchers asked
stockpeople questions about how frequently they talked to
sows and other positive interactions. "Behaviour beliefs are
highly predictable of how we will behave," he found.
So the researchers turned to an experiment to see if
animal productivity and welfare could be increased by
changing the attitudes of the people working with them.
Over 12 months of retraining, significant improvements in
attitude and a reduction of negative behaviour were
recorded, along with a corresponding improvement in the
reproductive performance of sows.
Improvements in human/animal reactions seem to have
the most implications in farrowing and breeding,
Hemsworth said. Studies show the more animals are
stressed, the poorer their reproduction.
As well as making the pigs happier, workers are also
happier if they get along with the animals, he said. He said
the researchers have found that the behavior modification
increases job satisfaction and work motivation of
stockpeople. Those who are motivated are more likely to
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