Emotional “Contagion” in Piglets after Sensory Avoidance of Rewarding and Punishing Treatment
Ye Zhang, Xuesong Yang, Fang Sun, Yaqian Zhang, Yuhan Yao, Ziyu Bai, Jiaqi Yu, Xiangyu Liu, Qian Zhao, Xiang Li, Jun Bao

TL;DR
This study shows that even when separated, untreated piglets can still feel the negative emotions of treated peers, suggesting emotional contagion in pigs.
Contribution
The study demonstrates that sensory avoidance does not prevent emotional contagion of negative emotions in piglets.
Findings
Untreated piglets showed synchronized heart rate changes with treated peers.
Negative emotions lasted longer than positive emotions in piglets.
Piglets in the punishing group showed more freezing behavior and less contact.
Abstract
In current pig farming, pigs are susceptible to stress-induced adverse emotions. Emotional contagion may propagate these emotions within a herd, potentially affecting overall welfare. Typically, treatments of individual pigs should be conducted separately from the group. Thus, after separation from treatment on an individual pig, the behavioral responses and heart rate changes of the companion pig were recorded to determine if the sensory avoidance was effective. It was found that peers were still affected by the treated pigs after sensory avoidance. Separation from treatment does not eliminate the effects of the treated pig on companion pigs, which can still be affected in post-treatment contact. In the pig farming industry, it is recommended to avoid groups when treating individuals to reduce adverse reactions in the group. However, can this eliminate the adverse effects effectively?…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAnimal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Meat and Animal Product Quality · Animal Nutrition and Physiology
