Understanding the behaviour and improving the welfare of pigs

Understanding the behaviour and improving the welfare of pigs is a comprehensive review of key research in this important area.

With growing concern from consumers and regulatory agencies about the welfare of farmed animals such as pigs, the livestock sector must assess how animal welfare can be improved whilst ensuring livestock production remains economically and environmentally sustainable.

With its distinguished editor and international team of expert authors, Understanding the behaviour and improving the welfare of pigs will be a standard text for university researchers in pig/swine and veterinary science as well as ethology. It will also be a key reference for government and other agencies involved in regulating and monitoring farm animal welfare, as well as farmers and companies involved in pig production.

• Emphasises advances in understanding pig behaviour as the foundation for understanding and improving welfare 
• Comprehensive coverable of welfare issues across the value chain, covering breeding and gestation, farrowing and lactation, weaning, growing and finishing as well as transport, lairage and slaughter 
• Particular focus on ways of assessing and reducing pain in such areas as tail docking and castration