Swine

Do Mexican TN-Visa swine caretakers’ euthanasia attitudes differ by age?

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Abstract

Currently, Hispanic and Latino caretakers makeup 17.2% of the total animal production and aquaculture workforce in the United States (U.S.). Yet, little is known about swine euthanasia attitudes as it relates to age demographics. The objective of this project was to investigate if there were euthanasia attitudinal differences between ≤ 30 yr and > 30 yr swine caretakers on a TN-visa from Mexico working on a commercial sow farm. An online Qualtrics survey was delivered in Spanish language and completed by 40 caretakers (n = 20 ≤ 30 yr and n = 20 > 30 yr). Eligible respondents were swine caretakers on a Trade NAFTA (TN) visa and who spoke and read Spanish as their first language. Results will be presented descriptively. The majority of caretakers were male (63%), and 98% had received a higher education, with 55% never euthanizing an animal prior to this job. Average residency in the U.S. was 3.1 yr. Regardless of caretaker age,all reported to being confident, knowledgeable, could make decisions, and were comfortable in performing euthanasia. Furthermore, there were no differences when euthanasia was being considered on an adult pig versus a neonatal piglet. In conclusion, these results suggest pigs and piglets are likely to receive timely and humane euthanasia to alleviate suffering on-farm regardless of caretaker age that are on a TN-visa from Mexico.

Keywords: Caretaker, Mental Health, TN-Visa Stress

How to Cite:

Yarian, J. K., Skaar, B., Johnson, A. K., Stalder, K. J., Ross, J. W., Millman, S. T., Pairis-Garcia, M. D., Robles, I., Arruda, A. & Jass, C., (2022) “Do Mexican TN-Visa swine caretakers’ euthanasia attitudes differ by age?”, Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 19(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/air.14474