Group housing for pigs improves welfare but introduces aggression challenges; effective management reduces injuries and chronic stress in commercial pig production.
Aggression in group-housed pigs is not simply a management inconvenience — it represents genuine welfare harm. Injuries are painful, infections can develop from bite wounds, and subordinate pigs experience chronic social stress when unable to escape aggressive pen-mates. Tail biting, which often goes unnoticed until severe, can progress to cannibalism and serious injury. The solution is not to abandon group housing — isolation in gestation crates causes far greater welfare harm — but to implement the enrichment, space, and management practices that allow pigs to express social behavior without chronic injury. Producers who invest in better group management protocols see both improved welfare outcomes and economic benefits from reduced mortality and veterinary costs.