April 23, 2014

As part of a concerted effort to produce 'high quality' pork, Australian pork producers are successfully moving their sows to group housing, according to pork cooperative research centre (CRC).

The transition has also been taking place to differentiate Australian producers' product, to that of overseas competitors.

Roger Campbell, CEO of Australia Pork CRC told delegates at a recent workshop in Toowoomba, Queensland, that group housing the Australian way was "now virtually a done deal".

Addressing 150 pork producers and industry stakeholders at the recent Pork CRC and APL 'Successful Group Housing Systems for Dry Sows' workshop, he said, "Most producers have made the transition and those who are now a couple of years down the track are reporting very satisfactory production levels and, it seems, improved welfare outcomes for sows."

Paul Hemsworth of the Animal Welfare Science Centre (AWSC), University of Melbourne, and Pork CRC sub-programme leader, said domestic pigs, just like their wild relatives, needed to establish a social order or hierarchy, which needed to be done quickly when sows were first mixed.

According to a manual on mixing sows, produced by Pork CRC, current Australian research indicates that the minimum space allowance for group housed sows is somewhere between 1.8 and 2.4 square metres per sow.