Environmental enrichment is one of the most effective, evidence-based welfare interventions for farmed pigs, reducing abnormal behaviours and improving psychological wellbeing across all production stages.
The absence of adequate enrichment in commercial pig housing is one of the most pervasive welfare failures in livestock agriculture. Pigs denied the ability to root and forage — their most strongly motivated natural behaviours — experience chronic frustration that manifests as redirected rooting at pen-mates, tail biting, and stereotypic behaviours. These are measurable indicators of poor psychological welfare. The regulatory requirement for enrichment in the EU is clear, but enforcement is inadequate in many member states, and the distinction between enrichment that satisfies pig motivation and token provision (a single hanging chain) is often not made in practice. High-quality enrichment — fresh straw, compost substrate, forage-scatter feeding — transforms pig welfare outcomes at relatively low cost.