Scientific research has identified the environmental enrichments that most effectively meet livestock behavioural needs, enabling evidence-based implementation rather than token compliance.
Evidence-based enrichment moves beyond regulatory compliance — providing any object that technically meets requirements — toward genuine welfare benefit. Research has characterised what makes enrichment effective: novelty, manipulability, destructibility, and edibility score highest across species. For pigs, straw or compost substrates satisfy rooting drives in ways that fixed objects cannot. For cattle, brush rollers provide contact comfort and reduce stereotypic behaviours. For laying hens, elevated perches and nesting materials address specific behavioural needs. Implementation should be guided by the evidence rather than cost minimisation.