The pig farming industry is fully committed to keeping pigs with long tails. This theme ties in seamlessly with Vion Food Group’s commitment to the highest standards of animal welfare. We are actively working on new projects to achieve further improvements. One of these projects is the three-year EIP project “AI for a healthy curly tail”, in which we use smart technology to improve animal welfare.
This project is developing a monitoring system that aims to enable pig farmers to identify the risk of tail biting at an early stage. Data from the barn and the slaughterhouse are linked, creating a unique dataset. With data from the barn and slaughterhouse, supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and common sense, the parties involved are committed to future-proof pig farming in which pigs retain their tails. The aim of this project is to translate individual measurements into information that pig farmers can use intelligently. By applying technology intelligently, relationships and risks become visible earlier and the chain can take more targeted action.
Vion is collaborating with various partners on this project. Connecting Agri & Food coordinates the measurements in the barn. We are also collaborating with Utrecht University and the German company VetVise, which provides the camera technology in the barn. For the data from the slaughterhouse, we are collaborating with Vision Partners on a system that automatically recognises tail damage on the slaughter line and classifies it.
The ultimate goal is to develop a preventive monitoring system that supports pig farmers in taking timely action and structurally preventing tail biting. This will enable pigs to grow up healthy with a full curly tail.
The project is co-financed by the European Union.