Providing meaningful enrichment to pigs is both a legal requirement in many jurisdictions and one of the most effective ways to improve welfare on commercial farms.
The gap between legal requirements and farm practice on enrichment is a significant welfare problem in pig farming. Many farms provide token enrichment that does not meet pigs' behavioral needs - chains hanging from the ceiling, for example, quickly lose novelty and provide little genuine outlet for rooting behavior. Straw, compost, peat, or other rooting substrates are among the most effective enrichment materials available, but can pose challenges for slatted floor systems designed for liquid manure management. Enrichment is not an add-on luxury: inadequate behavioral outlets directly cause tail biting outbreaks, which lead to painful injuries, infection, and sometimes death from evisceration following severe tail injury.