A robust body of research confirms that environmental enrichment reduces stereotypies and aggression in pigs while promoting positive welfare indicators.
The science of pig enrichment has moved far beyond theory - enrichment provision demonstrably reduces suffering and promotes positive states. Barren housing frustrates fundamental behavioral needs and causes chronic stress that is not merely inconvenient but genuinely harmful. Farms that provide adequate straw or other high-quality enrichment meet behavioral needs that cannot be met otherwise. The gap between scientific evidence and routine farm practice represents a welfare failure that policy and industry standards should close.