Tail docking of piglets is widely practised to prevent tail biting but is itself a painful mutilation that EU law requires should only be performed when other measures have failed.
Tail docking is the paradigmatic example of treating a symptom rather than its cause in farm animal welfare. Tail biting is a sign of inadequate enrichment, overstocking, nutritional deficiency, or other welfare problems that cause redirected oral behaviour. Docking removes the target without addressing the underlying cause, meaning docked pigs in poor conditions may redirect biting to ears, flanks, and other body parts. The pain of docking itself is an unnecessary additional welfare harm. The evidence that tail biting can be prevented without docking through enrichment and management improvements is strong, but industry adoption requires regulatory enforcement and support for producers making the transition.