[ti:Do Pigs Like Music? Belgian Researchers Want to Know] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Scientists in Belgium are investigating a farmer's claim [00:05.02]that different kinds of music affect the behavior of his pigs. [00:12.00]Piet Paesmans first noticed the reaction [00:15.46]when his son started singing a song in the family's animal shelter. [00:21.80]The farmer said the sows, or adult female pigs, [00:26.48]seemed excited by the sound and started shaking their little tails. [00:33.40]"I thought this was too good to pass up, [00:36.20]we should try that with the other pigs too," [00:39.37]Paesmans told Reuters from his farm. [00:43.64]Paesmans has since created a list of songs to play at different times of the day. [00:51.08]He uses energetic music when he wants the pigs to be active [00:55.72]and lullabies at the end of the day. [01:00.08]Lullabies are quiet, slow songs. [01:03.69]"Jolly dance songs are the biggest hits," Paesmans said. [01:09.14]He said that the pigs even appear to dance to the music. [01:14.88]He does not play rock and roll music for the pigs. [01:18.75]"Rock music is too strong, they don't like it," the farmer observed. [01:25.68]The farmer described his observations to a team of researchers. [01:32.20]The team then secured 75,000 euros of financing to investigate the claims. [01:41.64]Sander Palmans is the research project organizer. [01:46.14]He said not much is known about pigs' reaction to music. [01:51.84]But he said that Paesmans' experience [01:54.89]fits with existing knowledge about the effects of sounds on animals. [02:01.80]"There is without a doubt an effect of specific noises on animals," he said. [02:08.00]"So it's really possible that music can have the same effect," [02:13.52]Palmans added that music could help ease boredom, [02:18.22]which has been linked to tension in animals. [02:22.76]The findings could be useful for the farming industry. [02:26.69]Meat quality is affected by stress in animals, Paesmans said. [02:32.80]"A top athlete needs to be completely fit physically, but also mentally. [02:39.86]And that's just the same for pigs...It's really important for the quality of the meat." [02:47.36]The results of the research are expected by the end of the year. [02:52.52]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM