Sustainable Livestock Production. Module description
Module 1 contains educational material on the theoretical and practical foundations of the legislative framework of Ukraine and the world regarding animal welfare, production technology of pig farming products taking into account the principles of animal welfare, general physiological and behavioral characteristics of pigs, as well as the impact of stress on the pigs.
During the course, participants will have the opportunity to receive information and advice on the assessment of pig welfare in farm and industrial settings. On the basis of modern European practices, using an interdisciplinary approach, the course will reveal the requirements for the organization of animal welfare during the rearing of different sex-age groups: conditionally piglets, piglets, suckling sows, breeding boars, test boars, suckling piglets, and young pigs under rearing and fattening. Separately, the course will cover the issue of transportation and slaughter of pigs based on welfare principles.
The training course will contribute to the dissemination and implementation of scientific research results in the field of animal welfare, modern production methods and the best experience in pig farming in Ukraine and the world.
Therefore, the main goal of studying the discipline is the training of qualified specialists who are able to use the technologies of sustainable animal husbandry in practice and analyze the cause-and-effect relationships of their implementation in production activities.
Task: the technological foundations of sustainable animal husbandry will allow students of higher education to gain knowledge about the assessment of the physiological state of animals during their industrial use. The criteria and methodology of sustainable development considered in this module will make it possible to form in practice a scale for assessing the sustainability of animal husbandry. The acquired knowledge will make it possible to form a theoretical base and acquire practical skills of keeping, feeding and breeding animals and develop a strategy for managing production processes based on the best resource-saving practices.
Basic knowledge provided in module 3:
Basic concepts of sustainable development of animal husbandry, evolution of industrial animal husbandry from intensive production to animal welfare.
The positive effect of the application of methods and techniques of sustainable animal husbandry to industrial pig farming, the impact of improved animal housing conditions on product quality
Basic concepts of digital animal husbandry.
The module consists of different course formats:
Lectures: Basic understanding of digital animal husbandry through interactive lectures.
Farm Visits: Practical skills through visits to farms with animal welfare principles in place.
Exercises. Put what you’ve learned into practice by completing exercises to consolidate what you’ve learned.
Case studies: analysis of real life scenarios, use of digital tools.
Discussions: discussion of topical issues for in-depth study of course topics.
By the end of this module, students will be able to:
Learn the concept of sustainable development and animal welfare.
Describe the method of assessing the well-being of animals in the system of sustainable animal husbandry.
Analyze the animal welfare benefits of industrial pig farming.
Apply these technologies to improve animal health, welfare and production efficiency on industrial farms.