USask graduate explores link between swine welfare and environmental enrichment

There is growing consumer interest in humanely raised meat. An important factor of humanely raised animals is providing environmental enrichment for them. Environmental enrichment is improving a captive animal’s environment for their well-being and quality of life. Enrichment can be social, occupational, physical, sensory, or nutritional.

For University of Saskatchewan (USask) student Abby Tillotson, the challenge of finding enrichment for swine that is both effective for swine and practical for producers, was an intriguing one.

“Canadian producers are required to provide environmental enrichment to pigs on farms,” said Tillotson. “However, providing effective enrichment has proven to be difficult. This research sought to find enrichment that would be attractive to pigs while also being simple, inexpensive, and useful for producers to implement on the farm.”

Tillotson will officially receive her Master of Science in Animal Science at USask Fall Convocation, taking place on November 13 at Merlis Belsher Place.

In May 2024, she successfully defended her master’s thesis, The effects of periodic environmental enrichment at different life stages on the behaviour and production of growing pigs. Tillotson was co-supervised by Dr. Jennifer Brown (PhD), adjunct professor, and Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner (PhD), professor, both in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources.

Tillotson conducted her thesis research at the Prairie Swine Centre. The enrichment object used in the research study was loosely crumpled paper sprayed with a citrus-scented solution (Phytozen) that has been shown to reduce aggression in pigs. Phytozen is a blend of natural essential oils and botanical extracts.

Two methods of data collection were used: on-farm collection, and transcribing behaviour video. Approximately 400 hours of video was captured including “day-in-the-life” videos of swine when they were 17 weeks old.

“I measured the frequency and duration of several behaviours including eating, playing, fighting, exploring the pen, interacting with the enrichment, or manipulating pen-mates,” said Tillotson.

The on-farm collection of data included performing behaviour tests, weighing the swine and scoring their tail bites and body lesions.

“At the Prairie Swine Centre, I’ve received some of the best hands-on learning experiences I could have hoped for,” said Tillotson. “It was my first experience both working with pigs and in an intensive livestock barn.”

Tillotson’s research found interesting results among the swine with differing levels of enrichment throughout their lives.

“The research results showed that pigs with access to periodic enrichment throughout life had the greatest welfare,” said Tillotson. “They had the fewest superficial lesions and tail bites and performed the least number of aversive behaviours, such as chewing on pen-mates.”

“The pigs who had enrichment during early life had greater lean measurements and greater carcass weights. Promoting play in early life (and thus promoting bone development, muscle development, and positive emotions) is recommended to swine producers.”

Tillotson’s research received funding from the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund and Mitacs. She presented the results of her research at the SaskPork Symposium and the Banff Pork Seminar and is in the process of submitting to the Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

Originally from Parksville, B.C., Tillotson first completed her Bachelor of Science in Animal Bioscience at USask before pursuing a master’s degree.

“A family member had previously attended USask and the Animal Bioscience degree was the best suited for what I was looking for.”

Animal welfare is important to Tillotson, and she is a representative for Humane Canada for the 2024 revision of the Canadian Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs. She’s also working as a research technician at the Prairie Swine Centre.

“I want to continue to work in the Canadian agriculture industry, specifically working to improve the welfare of intensively raised animals,” said Tillotson. “I hope to expand my experience and work with a range of different livestock species throughout my life, specifically with sheep and turkeys. There is always more to learn. New research leads to new questions, which is so exciting.”