Tail docking is routinely performed in pigs and sheep; it causes acute pain and does not address the underlying causes of tail-biting or flystrike, making prevention through management a welfare-superior approach.
Tail docking treats a symptom of inadequate management rather than the underlying cause. In pigs, tail-biting is a response to barren, overcrowded conditions and nutritional deficiencies; enriched environments and appropriate nutrition effectively prevent tail-biting without docking. The continued widespread use of tail docking represents a regulatory failure — the practice is prohibited in principle but permitted through derogation in almost all cases, removing commercial incentive to improve underlying conditions.