Framing a pig welfare assessment protocol suitable for smallholder settings in low-to-middle income countries

Smallholder pig production in low-to-middle income countries (LMIC) can be an important contributor to the livelihoods of families including income, food, social and cultural obligations. However, to date there has been scant evaluation of welfare in smallholder pig production systems in these countries. To contribute to research to address this knowledge gap, we conducted a review of existing pig welfare assessment protocols to determine if any existing protocol is directly applied to smallholder pig production systems in LMIC. A total of 16 protocols were identified and evaluated but none were suited to the smallholder context, because they were created for commercial, conventional intensive pig production systems in developed countries. Therefore, a preliminary version of a new protocol was formulated drawing upon the indicators in the existing frameworks relevant to smallholder systems. The new protocol consists of a questionnaire (15 questions) and an observation record sheet (23 welfare indicators). Of the welfare indicators, 5 are designated as critical indicators in urgent need of immediate intervention to improve pig welfare when ≥ 1 of these measures has a zero score. The critical indicators are: 1) Access to water, 2) Access to feed, 3) Body condition score, 4) Space allowance, 5) Negative social behaviour. We propose that the preliminary protocol be piloted in various smallholder pig contexts to refine and validate it. The new protocol is an essential first step toward better understanding of the welfare of the pigs in smallholder pig production systems in LMIC.