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The tail biting management tool 'SchwIP' was developed to analyse estimated farm individual risk for tail biting and to support farmers to reduce risk. The risk factors included in SchwIP had been weighted by 61 experts regarding their strength of influence on tail biting. SchwIP was applied on 21 conventional farms throughout Germany that kept weaner pigs in closed barns. All farms were assessed with the SchwIP questionnaire and received farm-individual feedback and advice on how to reduce tail biting risk. There were no control farms with assessment only, because asking questions could raise awareness thus triggering improvements. Each farm was visited three times at 6 monthly intervals. Risk factor data collected on farms were replaced with the corresponding expert weighting, and weightings were then standardised to a range of 0 - 1 across all farms and visits. All standardised risks were summarised per farm and visit. From this, within-farm differences in farm risk sums between visit 1 and 2 (ΔRS12), 2 and 3 (ΔRS23) and 1 and 3 (ΔRS13), and the association between changes in single risk factors with ΔRS, were calculated. Farm risk sums significantly decreased from visit 1 to visit 2 and 3, respectively, but not from visit 2 to visit 3. Change in farm risk sums between visit 1 and 2 was significantly correlated with 59 factors; ΔRS23 with 54 factors; and ΔRS13 with 57 factors. Eighteen factors were significantly associated with all three ΔRS. The management tool SchwIP contributed to a reduction in estimated risk for tail biting in weaners after the first visit. There was no apparent pattern of changes in risk factors on the farms, which underlines the multifactorial nature of tail biting. Further on-farm research on tail biting risk factors and tail lesions is needed to better understand the complex relationship., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Tail biting lesions have a negative effect on both the welfare of pigs and on the revenue of the pig farm. Due to the multifactorial nature of this abnormal behaviour and its sporadic onset, an epidemiological approach was adopted to identify the management and housing factors influencing the occurrence of tail biting and the frequency of bitten pigs in the weaning and fattening phases up to 170 kg live weight in heavy pig production. Data were collected from a sample of 67 commercial pig farms via an on-farm visit and a questionnaire to the farmer. Data collected included general farm information, hygiene and herd health, prevention, management, climate control, feeding and production traits. In the weaning phase, the occurrence of tail biting was increased by a factor of 16.64 for tipped vs. short-docked tails, by a factor of 68.09 when the observer detected poor air quality, and by a factor of 14.44 when the feeding time was variable. In fattening pigs, a high stocking density increased the risk of tail biting by a factor of 18.00. The frequency of lesions in weaners was greater in pigs with tipped tails (0.29 vs. 0.03%; P = 0.034), whereas in fatteners the frequency of lesions was greater when drinkers were not present in the lying area (0.71 vs. 0.05%; P = 0.009) and when air turnover was not detected in the barn (0.70 vs. 0.07%; P = 0.005). There was also a trend for increased tail biting when the stocking density was high (1.06 vs. 0.33%; P = 0.057). Many of the risk factors that emerged for heavy pigs in the present study could be easily managed to reduce the risk of tail biting and the frequency of tail lesions through the systematic evaluation and control of stocking density, climate, and feed and water management., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

As part of an evaluation of Dutch breed specific legislation, data were collected from dog bite victims (1078) and dog owners (6139) using Internet surveys. The incidence rate of dog bites and details of incidents (victims, injuries, circumstances and aggressors) are reported and the justification for using breed specific measurements to deal with dog bites are considered. For aggressors, attack records for breed groups and popular breeds were established by calculating breed risk indices using a reference population. Several breeds and breed groups were over- and under-represented in the biting population and there was a mismatch between risk indices and the then-current legislation. Mitigation strategies should not be based on attack records (since this would lead to the rejection of a significant proportion of the canine population) but on the circumstances of the incidents. Preventative measures must focus on a better understanding of how to handle dogs., (Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Tail-biting data from different studies are difficult to compare because a range of definitions of tail-biting behaviour and tail-biting lesions are used. Although records from abattoirs provide a large database, their usefulness is restricted as tail-biting is under-recorded and environmental and husbandry factors associated with the behaviour are unlikely to be known. Both farm and abattoir data provide no information on the number of pigs biting, only those bitten. Studying individual animals that tail-bite should give a better understanding of the pig's motivation to tail-bite and which of the components of its environment should be adjusted to improve welfare. This review examines the existing literature on tail-biting in pigs but considered from a new perspective using three different descriptive behavioural types, namely, 'two-stage', 'sudden-forceful' and 'obsessive', each of which may have different motivational bases. The article also considers the different environmental and husbandry factors which may affect each type of behaviour and discusses why this is such a complicated field and why it is often difficult to draw conclusions from available research., (Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The extent of inflammation associated with tail biting in finishing pigs was evaluated. Tail histopathology, carcass condemnation and the concentration of three acute phase proteins (APPs), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid-A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp), were examined in 12 tail-bitten and 13 control pigs. The median concentrations of APPs were higher (P<0.01) in bitten (CRP 617.5mg/L, range 80.5-969.9; SAA 128.0mg/L, 6.2-774.4; Hp 2.8g/L, 1.6-3.5) than in control pigs (CRP 65.7mg/L, 28.4-180.4; SAA 6.2mg/L, 6.2-21.4; Hp 1.2g/L, 0.9-1.5). There was a tendency for APP concentrations to rise with the histopathological score but the differences were only statistically significant between some of the scores. Five (42%) bitten cases and one (8%) control pig had partial carcass condemnations owing to abscesses (P=0.07). The results show that tail biting induces an inflammatory response in the tail end leading to an acute phase response and formation of carcass abscesses., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Dog bites in humans are a complex problem embracing public health and animal welfare. To prevent dog bites it is necessary to have comprehensive epidemiological data that allow the identification of associated risk patterns. This study was aimed at investigating the problem posed by dog bites in Spain. The epidemiology of medically attended dog bite-related incidents reported in Aragón was analysed from 1995 to 2004. Bite incidents were mostly associated with: (1) low-population areas (71.3/100,000 inhabitants); (2) males and children, particularly those aged 5-9; (3) single injuries directed to the head and neck area in children and to the extremities in adults; (4) young, male, medium to large, owned dogs that were known to the victim; (5) summer months, and (6) specific circumstances such as human interference with knocked down and fighting dogs. In the light of these risk patterns, a wide range of specific preventive measures could be proposed.

Feline pyothorax is a life-threatening emergency commonly encountered by the small animal clinician. Historically, thoracic wall penetration from a bite wound has been postulated to be a major route of infection. New information has challenged this dogma and indicated that aspiration of oropharyngeal flora is the usual route of infection of the pleural space in cats. A role for unusual pathogens, including gastrointestinal flora and fungal agents, has been identified in some cases, particularly in kittens. In the first of a two-part review, the clinical findings in feline pyothorax are discussed with a focus on an improved understanding of the aetiopathogenesis of the disease and subsequent implications for diagnostic investigation.

Medical records of five dogs and two cats with bite wounds to the spine were reviewed. All dogs were bitten in the cervical spine and presented as quadriparetic. Both cats were bitten at the lumbar spine; one was paraparetic and the other paraplegic. Concomitant injuries to structures other than the spine were seen in two cases. Radiographic findings included vertebral fractures in all cases. Medical therapy included antibiotics (7/7), methylprednisolone sodium succinate (4/7) and analgesia (7/7). Five cases underwent minor (4/5) or extensive (1/5) surgical debridement. All cervical fractures were stabilized with fiberglass casts and animals with lumbar injury were cage rested for a month. Six of the cases survived, five of which regained good to excellent ambulatory ability within the first month. Although, the numbers of reported cases are limited, this study shows that adequate surgical debridement and wound drainage combined with external coaptation can be sufficient to manage bite wounds that involve the spine.

A study was performed in five identical outdoor production units in the same geographic area using growing-finishing pigs of similar genetic makeup, age, diet and feed management. The severity of tail-biting (TS) was scored 1-4. The average group prevalence of bitten tails at slaughter on different farms was between 14.1+/-2.1% and 20.1+/-3.0% (P<0.05). The odds of a barrow being bitten were 2.9 times higher than those for a gilt. The most frequently recorded score of bitten tails was TS3, indicating moderate wounds with low grade infection. The prevalence of bitten barrows was positively correlated with the percentage of gilts in a group (r = 0.54, P<0.001). Pigs with zero TS score had no significantly higher weights at slaughter compared to pigs with a score of TS1. As the TS increased from 1 to 4, weights decreased (TS 1 to TS 2 to 4, P<0.05). TS 3 and 4 were positively (P<0.001) associated with subsequent carcass condemnation. We concluded that outdoor rearing does not prevent tail-biting.

One of the costly and welfare-reducing problems in modern pig production is tail biting. Tail biting is an abnormal behaviour, characterized by one pig's dental manipulation of another pig's tail. Tail biting can be classified into two groups: the pre-injury stage, before any wound on the tail is present, and the injury stage, where the tail is wounded and bleeding. Tail biting in the injury stage will reduce welfare of the bitten pig and the possible spread of infection is a health as well as welfare problem. The pigs that become tail biters may also suffer, because they are frustrated due to living in a stressful environment. This frustration may result in an excessive motivation for biting the tails of pen mates. This review aims to summarize recent research and theories in relation to tail biting., (Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.)

The tail length (docked, tipped or undocked) and tail status (bitten or unbitten) of 27,870 pigs from 450 units was recorded at six UK abattoirs. A farm survey of the final finishing stage was used to investigate the relationship between management practice and tail biting. This showed that docking was the most important factor influencing the probability of being not bitten, with 2.4% of docked and 8.5% of long-tailed pigs being tail-bitten. The following factors reduced the probability of long-tailed pigs being tail-bitten; light straw provision, use of natural ventilation or artificially controlled natural ventilation (ACNV), mixed sex grouping, meal or liquid feeding, and use of double or multi-space feeders. Docked and long-tailed pigs provided with light straw and natural ventilation/ACNV had levels of tail biting of 1.2% and 4.3% respectively; 3.9% of docked pigs with artificial ventilation and no straw were tail-bitten. Long-tailed pigs fed via double or multi-space feeders also had 3.9% of tails bitten., (Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.)