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Assessment of temperament traits of white-lipped (Tayassu pecari) and collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) during handling in a farmed environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2023

SSC Nogueira ,
JF Macêdo ,
AC Sant’Anna ,
SLG Nogueira-Filho  and
MJR Paranhos da Costa
SSC Nogueira*
Affiliation:
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado km 16 Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz-UESC, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
JF Macêdo
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz-UESC, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
AC Sant’Anna
Affiliation:
ETCO Group, Departamento de Zootecnia, FCAV-UNESP, Jaboticabal-SP, Brazil
SLG Nogueira-Filho
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz-UESC, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
MJR Paranhos da Costa
Affiliation:
ETCO Group, Departamento de Zootecnia, FCAV-UNESP, Jaboticabal-SP, Brazil
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: selene.nogueira@pq.cnpq.br
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Abstract

White-lipped (Tayassu pecari) and collared (Pecari tajacu) peccaries can be farmed as an alternative to subsistence hunting in Neotropical countries. The animals often show high reactivity to handling, usually involving capture with a net, which is a cause for concern because it poses risks to both animals’ and keepers’ welfare. We aimed to assess the temperament of both peccary species, evaluating animals’ reactions during handling, providing an emotional indicator and a new animal selection criterion for peccary farms. Three indicators were used to assess the temperament of 17 white-lipped and 19 collared peccaries: qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA, by using 12 behavioural adjectives); time to drive each animal through a corridor into a chute (TD, s); and flight speed (FS, m s−1). A Principal Components Analysis was performed for the QBA data to define a temperament index (TI). White-lipped peccaries showed TI scores associated with worse temperament traits than collared peccaries. White-lipped peccaries showed higher TD and FS means than collared peccaries. We found a correlation between TD and FS, but not between TD and TI, nor between FS and TI. The lack of correlation between all temperament indicators occurred, probably, because they measure different aspects of peccaries’ reactions toward humans and the farm environment during handling. A wide phenotypic variability was found among individuals within both species’ populations. The results provide an opportunity to address the role of temperament assessment, improving handling procedures and exploring the possibility of including temperament as a selection criterion in captive breeding programmes.

Keywords

animal welfaredomesticationhandlingpeccaryreactivitywildlife farming
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , August 2015 , pp. 291 - 298
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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