Do Pigs Like Music? Belgian Researchers Want to Know
2022-07-31
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1Scientists in Belgium are investigating a farmer's claim that different kinds of music affect the behavior of his pigs.
2Piet Paesmans first noticed the reaction when his son started singing a song in the family's animal shelter.
3The farmer said the sows, or adult female pigs, seemed excited by the sound and started shaking their little tails.
4"I thought this was too good to pass up, we should try that with the other pigs too," Paesmans told Reuters from his farm.
5Paesmans has since created a list of songs to play at different times of the day.
6He uses energetic music when he wants the pigs to be active and lullabies at the end of the day.
7Lullabies are quiet, slow songs.
8"Jolly dance songs are the biggest hits," Paesmans said.
9He said that the pigs even appear to dance to the music.
10He does not play rock and roll music for the pigs.
11 "Rock music is too strong, they don't like it," the farmer observed.
12The farmer described his observations to a team of researchers.
13The team then secured 75,000 euros of financing to investigate the claims.
14Sander Palmans is the research project organizer.
15He said not much is known about pigs' reaction to music.
16But he said that Paesmans' experience fits with existing knowledge about the effects of sounds on animals.
17"There is without a doubt an effect of specific noises on animals," he said.
18"So it's really possible that music can have the same effect," Palmans added that music could help ease boredom, which has been linked to tension in animals.
19The findings could be useful for the farming industry.
20Meat quality is affected by stress in animals, Paesmans said.
21"A top athlete needs to be completely fit physically, but also mentally. And that's just the same for pigs...It's really important for the quality of the meat."
22The results of the research are expected by the end of the year.
23I'm Caty Weaver.
1Scientists in Belgium are investigating a farmer's claim that different kinds of music affect the behavior of his pigs. 2Piet Paesmans first noticed the reaction when his son started singing a song in the family's animal shelter. The farmer said the sows, or adult female pigs, seemed excited by the sound and started shaking their little tails. 3"I thought this was too good to pass up, we should try that with the other pigs too," Paesmans told Reuters from his farm. 4Paesmans has since created a list of songs to play at different times of the day. He uses energetic music when he wants the pigs to be active and lullabies at the end of the day. Lullabies are quiet, slow songs. 5"Jolly dance songs are the biggest hits," Paesmans said. He said that the pigs even appear to dance to the music. 6He does not play rock and roll music for the pigs. "Rock music is too strong, they don't like it," the farmer observed. 7The farmer described his observations to a team of researchers. The team then secured 75,000 euros of financing to investigate the claims. 8Sander Palmans is the research project organizer. He said not much is known about pigs' reaction to music. But he said that Paesmans' experience fits with existing knowledge about the effects of sounds on animals. 9"There is without a doubt an effect of specific noises on animals," he said. "So it's really possible that music can have the same effect," Palmans added that music could help ease boredom, which has been linked to tension in animals. 10The findings could be useful for the farming industry. Meat quality is affected by stress in animals, Paesmans said. 11"A top athlete needs to be completely fit physically, but also mentally. And that's just the same for pigs...It's really important for the quality of the meat." 12The results of the research are expected by the end of the year. 13I'm Caty Weaver. 14Reuters news agency reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15____________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17jolly -adj. full of fun or joy 18excited -adj. very enthusiastic and eager 19doubt -n. a reason for disbelief 20specific -adj. relating to or being an example of a certain kind of thing 21boredom -n. the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest 22athlete -n. a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina 23_________________________________________________ 24Do you have an animal who seems to like music? We want to hear from you. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Write your comment in the box. 27Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 28Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.