Tail biting in pigs is a welfare crisis that the industry typically manages by docking tails rather than addressing the environmental and management causes.
Tail docking addresses a symptom rather than a cause. Pigs bite tails because their environment fails to meet their behavioural needs: overcrowded, unstimulating systems drive oral manipulation that escalates into biting. Docking causes acute pain at the time of the procedure and leaves a shorter but still sensitive stump. Where tail biting occurs in herds of docked pigs, the welfare consequences are as severe — open wounds become infected, affecting the entire pig. Addressing the causes — reducing stocking density, providing rooting materials, ensuring nutritional adequacy — eliminates both the need for docking and the welfare crisis it is meant to prevent.