News

Transitioning to group housing

One of the most widely debated animal welfare topics in the swine industry continues to be sow housing. Consumer demand has led many retailers to demand sows not be confined to gestation stalls. Monique Pairis-Garcia, an Animal Well-being and Behavior specialist at Ohio State University says what makes transitioning to group housing difficult is the multiple perspectives on the issue. As a professor, she says, her focus is on the science…

“But we also have to recognize that science is not going to be the only voice in the debate,” Pairis-Garcia said. “The role of the consumer, the role of the industry, the role that legislation, the impact it has on the producer is also important.”

She tells Brownfield it’s important for producers to understand that transitioning hog operations away from gestation stalls doesn’t happen overnight…

“When we think about transitioning a farm, we’re not only changing the physical farm, we’re also changing the way we think about management, we’re changing the way we think about employees, we’re changing the way we work with our animals,” said Pairis-Garcia.

Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue will host a Tri-State Sow Housing Conference on February 9th on the challenges of transitioning to group housing. Details and registration information are available here.

Audio: Dr. Monique Pairis-Garcia, Assistant Professor Animal Well-being and Behavior, The Ohio State University