The finishing period — from approximately 30 kg to slaughter weight (typically 100-120 kg in the UK, 125-135 kg in continental Europe) — represents the longest single production phase for most pigs, lasting approximately 16-20 weeks. Welfare during this period profoundly affects pig quality of life during what is the majority of their short lives.
EU legislation sets minimum space allowances of 0.65 m² per pig at 50-85 kg, and 1.0 m² per pig at over 110 kg. Research consistently demonstrates that welfare improves above these legal minimums — pigs given higher space allowances show more exploratory behaviour, less aggression, and better health outcomes. Many higher-welfare certification schemes require 20-40% more space than legal minimums.
Tail biting — one pig biting the tails of pen mates — is a major welfare crisis in pig production, causing pain, serious injury, and infection. It is substantially driven by barren, understimulating environments combined with competitive feeding and frustration. Prevention requires environmental enrichment (rooting materials, hanging objects, straw), appropriate feed provision, and adequate space — not simply tail docking, which treats the symptom not the cause.
Pigs have strong motivation to root, forage, and explore. Barren concrete or slatted floors prevent expression of these behaviours, causing chronic frustration and abnormal behaviours. Enrichment requirements now exist in EU legislation (effective 2023) requiring "manipulable material" — but compliance quality varies enormously. Effective enrichment includes straw, hay, compost, chains with attached objects, or hessian sacks — substrates that allow genuine rooting and manipulation.
Fully slatted floors — common in commercial production for ease of waste management — are associated with higher rates of lameness, leg injuries, and reduced lying comfort compared to solid or partially slatted floors with bedding. Dunging patterns on different floor types affect cleanliness, and wet, slippery floors increase injury risk. Partially slatted floors with a solid lying area represent a welfare improvement over fully slatted systems.
The welfare of finishing pigs in the hours before slaughter — including loading, transport, lairage, and slaughter itself — is a critical but often overlooked component of overall production welfare. Pigs have high stress sensitivity; pre-slaughter handling quality significantly affects both animal welfare and meat quality. Staff training in low-stress handling and attention to lairage conditions are welfare priorities in the finishing-to-slaughter transition.