Driving Pigs to Stunning

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Course content - Driving Pigs to Stunning
   1. Driving system using biological principles
   2. Driving system with no concern for biological principles
   3. Other systems for driving pigs to stunning
   4. Consequences of bad pre-slaughter handling
   5. The slaughter pig
   6. Sensory capacity of the pig
   7. Physical conditions
   8. Social conditions
   9. Handling conditions
   10. Simple ways of making handling easier
   11. Assessment of driving quality
   12. Designing a driving system based on biological principles
   13. Problems that still need to be solved
3. Completion

Social conditions

Pigs are social animals. Generally, mixing animals that do not know each other will result in aggression. This tendency to fight will increase under conditions of competition for resources such as space, feed and water. Pigs that are lairaged in individual stalls experience high levels of stress due to isolation.

The system of driving pigs to stunning can take advantage of the natural behaviour of the pig so that the animals follow each other.

Slaughter pigs fighting in a crowded lairage pen. Photo: Anne Algers.