Tail docking in pigs is performed to prevent tail biting, but it is a painful mutilation that addresses the symptom rather than the cause of a management failure. Alternatives exist and are increasingly viable.
Tail docking is the pig farming equivalent of treating a symptom by removing it: instead of addressing the conditions that cause tail biting — overcrowding, barren environments, poor nutrition, and inadequate enrichment — the target of biting is removed. This allows poor conditions to continue while avoiding the economic losses of tail-biting injury. The welfare cost is borne by the piglets, who experience the pain of docking. The EU recognised this when it prohibited routine tail docking, but enforcement has been inadequate and the practice continues at scale. Successful intact-tail pig production requires investment in enrichment, appropriate stocking density, and proactive health monitoring, but it is achievable. The economic case for docking only persists if the cost of improving conditions is not internalised.