Pig welfare workshop: A comprehensive farm-to-processing approach in Chile

In a joint effort to improve management practices in the Chilean pork industry, the Animal Welfare Program of the Universidad Austral School of Veterinary Sciences and the O’Higgins University School and Institute of Agri-Food, Animal and Environmental Sciences (ICA3) organized a workshop on pig welfare, from rearing to processing.

The workshop, sponsored by Zoetis Welfare and ChileCarne —the association that promotes the ChilePork brand abroad— intended to teach producers, practitioners, technicians, and students about the importance of animal welfare and its impact on the quality of the final product. Miguel Adasme, head of ChileCarne’s Industrial Department gave a lecture on animal welfare’s role in slaughter plants, particularly the ones eligible for exports.

It was a clear example of the Chilean pork industry’s ongoing commitment to animal welfare, proving that it is possible to balance ethical practices with efficient and high-quality production. The knowledge and techniques shared at the event not only benefit the animals, but also producers, consumers, and the industry as a whole, ensuring a more sustainable and responsible future for pork production in Chile.

The workshop was attended by representatives from all slaughter plants, the five largest producers, academics, laboratories, and undergraduates. It covered a wide range of topics, from the relationship between animal welfare and meat quality or the impact of slaughter plant management practices on the pigs’ welfare, to the effect of immunocastration and transportation in the pigs quality of life and meat.

Some of the areas covered were: Pig welfare and its relationship with meat quality, impact of the production unit on pig welfare and product quality, premature weaning: consequences on pig’s behavior and welfare, immunocastration as an animal welfare practice and its consequences on production, effect of transportation on pigs welfare and product quality, the impact of the relationship between people and pigs on management, and the effect of slaughter plant management on pigs’ welfare.