An international team that examined pig transport in Canada has found that death rates are lower for longer hauls rather than short ones.
That’s probably not what most people would guess, but the researchers say that the pigs tend to settle in and ride relatively smoothly to destinations.
They found that there is a temptation to put too many pigs on a load, which they say is understandable given the desire to keep costs down and to accomplish deliveries with one load rather than two.
The review was conducted by Fiona C. Rioja-Langof the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the YUniversity of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Jennifer A. Brown of the Prairie Swine Centre are Saskatoon, and the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Egan J. Brockhoff of Prairie Swine Health Services at Red Deer, Alta. and Luigi Faucinato of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Sherbrooke, Que.
