Providing appropriate rooting substrates for pigs satisfies one of their strongest behavioural motivations and significantly improves welfare in housed systems.
Rooting substrate welfare is a concrete expression of the behavioural needs principle: providing appropriate materials that satisfy rooting motivation improves welfare measurably. The evidence is clear that straw, compost, and other organic manipulable materials are far superior to inorganic hanging objects. The challenge is provision at scale in housed systems with slurry management infrastructure designed for bare floors. Despite this practical challenge, the welfare case for providing adequate rooting substrate is among the strongest in pig welfare science, and the commercial systems that have successfully integrated straw or straw-based materials demonstrate that it is achievable. Welfare certification schemes that require genuine rooting provision rather than token compliance are essential to driving improvement.