In addition to pig farmers and society as a whole, consumers, processors and retailers have been paying increasing attention in recent years to the welfare of the animals. This not only focuses on removing negative experiences, but also adding positive experiences such as having music played in the barn.
A pioneer in this field already started playing music regularly with his pigs via an audio system some eight years ago. This because of positive experiences which he noticed in his pigs (wagging more, being more active, starting to eat faster, ...). Even within certain specifications, music is already being experimented with around the period of slaughter to reduce stress.
First and foremost, this project has the objective to objectively determine the impact of music on animals. This should show whether there is an effective welfare improvement. In addition, a computerised monitoring system will be set up during the project to map the behaviour of the animals and analyse their behaviour in the presence of different types of music. All this should lead to a better understanding of the added value of playing music in pigs and could provide a basis for improving animal welfare in general.
