Tail biting in pigs is a complex redirected behaviour triggered by suboptimal environments, nutritional deficiencies, and poor health, and preventing it requires addressing root causes rather than simply docking tails as a physical intervention.
Tail biting represents a welfare failure at multiple levels: the biting pig is expressing frustrated behavioural needs, the bitten pig suffers painful wounds and infection risk, and the management response — tail docking — causes pain at the time of the procedure without resolving the underlying problem. The evidence consistently shows that enriched environments with rooting substrate, lower stocking densities, good air quality, and high health status dramatically reduce tail biting without docking. Producers who manage these factors effectively can maintain intact tails in commercial systems. The welfare priority is addressing root causes — creating environments where pigs can express natural behaviour — rather than physical mutilation that simply reduces the most visible symptom.