Pigs As Laboratory Animals

The pig is increasingly popular as a laboratory animal either as the target species in its own right or as a model for humans in biomedical science. As an intelligent, social animal it has a complex behavioral repertoire reminiscent of its ancestor, the wild boar. Within a laboratory setting, the pig may be the subject to a variety of invasive and non-invasive experimental procedures which may have short- and/or long-term impacts on its welfare. Ordinarily, pigs kept as laboratory animals will come under regulations or legislation governing use as lab animals rather than farm animals and be subject to increased individual monitoring as a result, even though there may be a lack of species-specific protocols to assess the welfare of laboratory pigs.