Tail docking of piglets to prevent tail biting is widespread despite being banned in the EU except where other measures have failed, highlighting a persistent welfare and compliance gap.
Tail docking presents a welfare dilemma: the procedure causes acute pain and potentially chronic discomfort, but the tail biting it prevents causes severe suffering including open wounds, infection, and death. The key welfare insight from Sweden and Finland is that tail biting can be controlled without routine docking through good enrichment, appropriate stocking density, and management quality. The widespread failure to implement alternative measures across most of Europe reflects economic pressure rather than welfare evidence. Both tail biting and tail docking cause welfare harm, and the appropriate response is investment in the conditions that prevent biting rather than accepting docking as inevitable.