Various aspects of trailer design and construction significantly impact the cleanability and welfare characteristics of the trailer, such as surface smoothness, exposed screws and weld joints, and presence of structures and hard-to-clean areas that may be prone to dirt accumulation. In this project, design criteria for cleanability and welfare characteristics of pig transport trailers was developed to provide the industry with an assessment tool for swine transport trailers to guide the design process in addressing inherent problems on trailer biosecurity and animal welfare.
A comprehensive literature review supplemented by surveys and interviews of various stakeholders was used to develop the initial draft of the design criteria that covered the following aspects of the trailer: hygiene and cleanability, safety, and animal welfare. The developed design criteria were then field-tested and validated by applying the criteria on 10 different swine trailers in use in the Canadian swine industry.
A rating scale for cleanability, safety, and welfare characteristics were established to enhance its overall applicability in the swine industry. Each component of the design criteria will be rated as Pass, Marginal, Unacceptable, or Replace, with an equivalent score of 1, 0.50, 0.25, and 0, respectively. The overall score will be calculated at the end of the checklist so that each aspect of the trailer (i.e., cleanability, welfare, and safety) is evaluated from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest score on the rating scale.
Design criteria for enhancing cleanability and welfare characteristics of pig transport trailers (full article)
