Liesbet Pluym

BackgroundDirective 91/630/EEC sets the minimum standards for the protection of pigs in the EU. It has been substantially amended several times. Directive 2008/120/EC [1] collates the existing legislation into one document. The most important items in this Directive in relation to the welfare of pregnant sows pertain to the necessity of group housing from 4 weeks after service to one week before e ...

Implications Knowledge on the economic impact of claw lesions and lameness helps to understand how both the diseases influence economic losses, and indicates how these problems should best be addressed. The fact that the prevalence of lameness varies throughout the reproductive cycle and peaks after sows were housed in the insemination stable is crucial for risk factor analysis. Furthermore, it im ...

Claw and leg lesions in sows may cause lameness, and have detrimental effects on animal welfare. In the European Welfare Quality® protocol, lameness is one of the animal-based measures to assess animal welfare (Welfare Quality® consortium, 2009). Besides welfare problems, economic losses due to lameness are also an important concern for pig producers. A high prevalence of sows with claw an ...