Academics either shake their heads and laugh or become frustrated when public policy is not based on sound science.
John McGlone, professor of animal science and vice-president of research at Texas Tech University, falls into the latter camp when reacting to legislation banning sow gestation stalls.
“In spite of people’s best intentions, sow welfare will become worse,” said McGlone, a specialist in hog welfare.
McGlone said he is not opposed to housing sows in pens. He noted a recent study published by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (www.cast-science.org) that concluded sow welfare outcomes are similar, whether they are housed in well-managed stalls or well-managed groups.
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However, he does oppose banning stalls without sufficient research on group housing.
“We do need more research, and it’s a shame to be forced to make sow welfare worse by legislation or referendum,” he said.
“If they come out of a well managed crate and go into a poorly managed pen, the welfare can be negative. And that’s what often happens.”
In May, Maine became the sixth state to pass legislation banning gestation stalls, joining California, Colorado, Florida, Arizona and Oregon. However, the political interest in sow welfare has not generated new money for sow housing research, which can cost at least $300,000 per study.
“And you just don’t find that money very often.” McGlone said.
“And that’s why there’s not that much research happening …. The USDA, it’s not on their priority list.”
McGlone believes Janeen Salak-Johnson of the University of Illinois leads the only ongoing study on sow housing in the United States.
“It’s shocking.”
Salak-Johnson, an animal science professor, agreed it’s premature to ban stalls without better understanding group housing.
She travelled to Europe in 2006 to see how farmers there are preparing for 2013, when legislation will ban sow stalls.
“They did the same thing that we’re going to be forced to do here in the U.S … move our animals into something that really hasn’t been developed, (a system that) improves the well being of the animal.”
The European Union legislation still allows stalls for the first four weeks of gestation.
Nonetheless, the problem in Europe is that legislation, not science, is determining the design of a replacement system.
“What is happening is their development of new systems is dictated by the legislation,” she said.
“Unfortunately, when you have your hands tied like that, there’s not a whole lot you can do.”
Salak-Johnson said a key drawback of group housing is the aggressive behaviour of dominant sows. Her research on the early gestation period has found that group-housed sows have higher levels of cortisol, a measure of stress, and increased lesions and lameness, compared to sows in stalls.
Laurie Connor of the University of Manitoba is also skeptical about legislating animal welfare practices.
“I don’t necessarily support that (legislation) unless it is particularly worded, and very often it’s not,” said Connor, head of the U of M’s animal science department and swine research unit director.
The Winnipeg Humane Society has long campaigned for legislation to ban gestation stalls in Manitoba, but Connor hopes the provincial government won’t follow the lead of Maine and other U.S. states.
“The management system that people (producers) would be using with group housing is very much a personal thing,” she said, adding Manitoba already has regulations regarding animal welfare.
“All of Canada has codes of practice for livestock …. In Manitoba, the Animal Care Act uses the codes as a supporting document for the act and it is legislated.”
