Neurophysiology, behaviour and animal welfare assessment. Department of Animal Production and Agriculture, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco campus, Mexico City, Mexico.
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
Graduate and Research Department, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Victoria City, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Neurophysiology, behaviour and animal welfare assessment. Department of Animal Production and Agriculture, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco campus, Mexico City, Mexico.
Livestock Science Department, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Facultad de Estudios Superiores Cuautitlán, State of Mexico, Mexico.
Neurophysiology, behaviour and animal welfare assessment. Department of Animal Production and Agriculture, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco campus, Mexico City, Mexico.
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. (CEIEPP), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City. Mexico.
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. (CEIEPP), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City. Mexico.
The facial expressions of animals constitute a means of manifesting emotions, fulfilling functions related to social interactions in several species. Interest has come to use facial expressions as a tool for predicting intentions; in the case of aggression, for example, impeding attacks between individuals prevents negative economic and emotional impacts. Recent research has sought to associate facial expressions with painful events as tail-cropping and castration on the assumption that objective evaluations of the presence or absence of grimaces in pigs’ snouts may allow us to determine the intensity of the pain they perceive. Furthermore, to continue developing scales that will complement the existing piglet grimace scale (PGS), which is not yet fully-validated in terms of reliability. Another area of research is interpreting expressions of fear during traumatic events like pre-slaughter handling. Also, the phenomenon of emotional contagion in groups of animals suggests the need to focus on their emotions, since recognizing them could allow us to prevent alterations of meat quality. These approaches reveal the need for a detailed compilation of the facial expressions of pigs based on current scientific literature regarding emotions, alimentation, and pain-related behavioral responses in pigs.
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