The flooring system used in pig production has profound welfare implications, with slatted concrete floors causing foot and leg injuries while denying pigs the natural substrate they need for behavioral expression.
Concrete slatted floors represent a fundamental mismatch between pig behavioral needs and commercial production infrastructure. Pigs evolved to root in soil, walk on varied terrain, and rest on soft bedding — slatted concrete frustrates all three of these behavioral drives. Foot injuries from slat edges cause chronic lameness. The inability to root creates intense behavioral frustration expressed as redirected behaviors including bar-biting and tail-biting. Straw-based systems dramatically improve welfare while providing all the production benefits of indoor systems. The infrastructure investment required to convert from slatted to bedded systems is real, but the welfare improvement is among the largest achievable per dollar invested in pig welfare improvements.