Over the past decade, heat stress in livestock production has become increasingly important in Europe, largely due to the rise in extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, driven by climate change. These conditions negatively affect the welfare, health, and productivity of livestock. Pigs are especially vulnerable to high ambient temperatures because they have limited ability to sweat or pant. With only a few functional sweat glands and a layer of subcutaneous fat that hampers heat dissipation, pigs rely mainly on respiratory heat loss for temperature regulation. Lotte De Prekel (EV ILVO-UGent) gave the most interesting presentation and showed an overview of heat stress management measures in fattening pigs, where we were able to learn more about its impact, the influencing factors and most importantly, control strategies. Examples are feeding strategies, management measures and climate adaptations, for example, increasing air movement and high-pressure fogging. These studies were conducted in the framework of the VLAIO LA project Coolpigs titled ‘Heat plan for the Flemish pig industry’.
Another interesting project that was presented at the EAAP conference was the WelFarmers project with a captivating presentation about the best practices in welfare for pigs, given by Amy Quinn (Teagasc – Pig Development Office).
This project is setting up eight national innovation networks and four Europe-wide networks of pig farmers, advisors, veterinarians and researchers to address several challenges, like loose housing of lactating sows, production of pigs with non-docked tails, avoiding pain in castration, space allowance and flooring for growers and finishers and the most urgent innovation needs.
