Flooring type profoundly affects pig welfare through its effects on foot health, lying comfort, cleanliness, and the ability to express natural behaviours. The choice between slatted and solid flooring has major welfare implications.
Flooring is among the most fundamental determinants of pig welfare in intensive systems. Slatted concrete floors cause chronic foot and leg problems through hard, abrasive surfaces and the inability to distribute weight naturally during lying. Pigs on fully slatted floors cannot root, build nests, or lie comfortably on soft substrate — behaviours central to their welfare. The cumulative effect of foot lesions, leg disorders, and behavioural frustration across a pig's lifetime is substantial. The additional cost of higher-welfare flooring represents a genuine economic barrier to improvement in competitive markets, which is why regulatory requirements rather than voluntary adoption are typically necessary to drive systemic change.