Providing environmental enrichment to pigs is both a legal requirement in many countries and a proven method for improving welfare, yet implementation quality varies enormously.
Pig enrichment is not an optional luxury but a fundamental welfare requirement. Pigs are highly intelligent animals with strong exploratory and rooting drives that, when frustrated, redirect into damaging behaviors like tail biting. The evidence is clear: substrate-based enrichment such as straw, compost, or peat dramatically reduces aggression and tail biting compared to suspended objects. Many farms technically comply with enrichment regulations while providing materials pigs barely interact with. Genuine welfare improvement requires enrichment that pigs actually use, not minimum-compliance token items.