{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:38:31Z","timestamp":1760060311300,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":118,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]],"date-time":"2025-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756080000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["LA\/P\/0059\/2020","UID\/00772\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LA\/P\/0059\/2020","UID\/00772\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The assessment of pig welfare and health at abattoirs is crucial for ensuring both animal well-being and food safety. Traditional assessment methods often rely on human observation, which is time-consuming, subjective, and difficult to scale in high-throughput facilities. This systematic review addresses a crucial gap by identifying and evaluating non-invasive human-free diagnostic methods applicable in commercial settings. Following PRISMA guidelines, a total of 102 articles met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen distinct methods were identified and classified into three categories: biological sample analysis (5 methods; n = 80 articles), imaging and computer vision systems (4 methods; n = 19), and physiological and other sensors (4 methods; n = 24). Some articles assessed more than one method and are therefore counted in multiple categories. While no method achieved both high implementation and practicality, blood analysis for glucose and lactate, convolutional neural networks for lesion detection, and automated camera-based systems emerged as the most promising for practical integration into the slaughter flowline. Most techniques still face challenges related to automation, operator independence, and standardisation. Overall, this review highlights the growing potential of non-invasive methods in pig welfare evaluation and underscores the need for continued development and validation to facilitate their adoption into routine abattoir practices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15172500","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T06:25:57Z","timestamp":1756189557000},"page":"2500","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Non-Invasive Human-Free Diagnosis Methods for Assessing Pig Welfare at Abattoirs: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0495-2135","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Francisca","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CECAV\u2014Veterinary and Animal Research Centre, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"given":"M\u00e1rcia","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8588-7071","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Madalena","family":"Vieira-Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CECAV\u2014Veterinary and Animal Research Centre, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bonicelli, L., Trachtman, A.R., Rosamilia, A., Liuzzo, G., Hattab, J., Mira Alcaraz, E., Del Negro, E., Vincenzi, S., Capobianco Dondona, A., and Calderara, S. 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