Pigs provided with outdoor access or high-quality enrichment show dramatically better welfare outcomes than those in barren indoor systems. Implementing these improvements at scale requires policy and consumer support.
The science on pig enrichment is unambiguous: providing straw, rooting substrate, and outdoor access dramatically improves welfare outcomes and reduces the need for painful husbandry interventions like tail docking. The barriers to adoption are predominantly economic — higher land and management costs — and regulatory, as minimum standards in many countries remain inadequate. Consumer willingness to pay for higher-welfare pork products and strong retailer commitments to welfare sourcing are the most effective levers for change. Policy interventions that level the playing field by requiring enrichment and restricting tail docking without concurrent provision of rooting material also drive systemic improvement.