2026-10-06T09:18:01Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33973351 2026-09-23T13:09:45Z category_1325 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Table 2_It’s all a matter of perspective—a comparison of scientific experts’ vs. farmers’ opinions on Best Practices for pig welfare.docx Maite Jachens (25097446) Swetlana Herbrandt (10043504) Nicole Kemper (835423) Michaela Fels (10043507) Veterinary Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care animal welfare Best Practices pigs stakeholder comparison surveys Background<p>Animal welfare presents an important topic in pig farming, with numerous resources offering recommendations on welfare improvements. These resources are often based on scientific knowledge, while practical experiences from farmers are rarely considered. This study aimed to bridge this gap in research by comparing scientific experts’ and farmers’ perceptions of Best Practices to improve on-farm welfare of fattening pigs. Candidate Best Practices to prevent and reduce tail and ear lesions, skin lesions and bursitis were identified in a literature review and integrated into two online surveys aimed at scientific experts and farmers. Participants could evaluate these measures on a scale from 0% (unsuitable) to 100% (very suitable). Answers were compared between both groups using a mixed linear regression model.</p>Results<p>Overall, 47 scientific experts and 80 pig farmers participated in the surveys. Nearly all proposed Best Practices received a higher rating from scientific experts than from farmers. Nevertheless, the highest and lowest rated measures were similar for both groups and numerous measures did not show a significant difference between farmers and scientific experts (p > 0.05). Top-rated candidate Best Practices included “Good barn climate/air quality” (median experts: 84.0% vs. median farmers: 72.0%, p = 1.000) as well as “Good health status” (81.5% vs. 75.0%; p = 1.000) for tail and ear lesions and “As little regrouping/mixing of animals on farm as possible” (88.0% vs. 71.0%, p = 0.006) for skin lesions. Labor and cost-intensive candidate Best Practices such as “Lowering stocking density” (71.5% vs. 40.0%, p < 0.001) and “Enough feeding space per pig” (80.0% vs. 46.0%; p < 0.001) were scored significantly lower by farmers than by scientific experts. For bursitis, all proposed measures concerning floor condition showed a significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.05), with farmers again scoring all candidate Best Practices lower than scientific experts.</p>Conclusion<p>While scientific experts favored most measures, farmers gave lower scores, potentially due to their experience with practical constraints such as feasibility, workload and costs. The ranking of candidate Best Practices, however, was similar in both groups, indicating a certain consensus. To promote the implementation of animal welfare measures on farms, it therefore seems important to consider farmers’ opinions and concerns and provide them with appropriate support.</p> 2026-09-23T13:09:45Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fvets.2026.1905492.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Table_2_It_s_all_a_matter_of_perspective_a_comparison_of_scientific_experts_vs_farmers_opinions_on_Best_Practices_for_pig_welfare_docx/33973351 CC BY 4.0