Needing more information on porcine stress syndrome I started to do more research on types of symptoms that occur with this disorder. Reading several articles from Pork Quality Assurance lead me to details I never knew. When a pig starts to stress it progressively leads to heart shocks leading in death. The process can go very slow or extremely fast. A pig will undergo a 40◦ C increase in temperature instantly. Their skin will become reddish purple and they have a tendency to squeal very loudly. It is common to have shaking in the face and for them to collapse without any movement, as they start to stiffen. All these symptoms strongly depend on the type of environment their in. Reading this article showed me how important it is to keep all swine in the least stress situation possible.
What is the best environment for a pig and is it really important. From raising pigs I know how different a pig can react in different environments. When a pig is little it adapts to a certain environment ranging from the mud to an air conditioned building. When you take a pig a put them in somewhere totally different of coarse, their going to stress. I think that they should be provided with the best environment possible to keep from having deaths. I also believe that a pig shouldnt have to be taken out of the enviroment there used to.
I agree with you in that the pig shouldn't be moved around a lot especially if they are comfortable where they are? I'm a little confused though about PSS. Do pigs still get it even if they stay in the same environment? Also, if it's killing so many pigs why aren't people trying harder to keep pigs from getting PSS? Are the pigs who die from this disorder still being used by consumers who buy the meat?
ReplyDeleteSo how practical is it to keep pigs in the best environment, while also trying to produce lots of pigs for lots of meat?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, some of the sicknesses and other problems modern farm animals face is the result of trying to produce more, faster, cheaper. Are the concepts of having very healthy pigs and having lots of pigs at odds with each other?
At this point, what further questions are you going to explore, and what other resources will you consult? Do you think Pork Quality Assurance has any sort of bias or angle? Who produces that publication?