A review of the scientific evidence on pig enrichment — what materials and designs genuinely improve welfare versus what provides minimal benefit — and the regulatory progress in enrichment requirements.
Pig enrichment science has generated robust evidence that substantial welfare improvement is achievable through management changes, but that implementation varies enormously between the letter and the spirit of enrichment requirements. Providing a chain or rubber ring technically complies with EU enrichment requirements while providing minimal welfare benefit — pigs engage with these objects briefly before returning to behaviors reflecting unmet rooting needs. The evidence is clear that rooting-appropriate substrate is the primary welfare intervention for pigs, providing both behavioral expression of fundamental motivational drives and measurable reductions in harmful redirected behaviors. Policy that requires genuine substrate provision rather than token enrichment would have far greater welfare impact than existing regulations.