Keeping pigs at home is legal in the UK with registration, but comes with significant welfare and legal responsibilities that many hobby farmers underestimate.
Backyard and smallholder pigs are often kept with genuine care but insufficient knowledge of their specific needs. Pigs are highly intelligent and social animals that require appropriate companionship, rooting material, wallowing facilities and adequate space. Isolated pigs or those kept in inadequate conditions develop welfare problems including stereotypies and redirected aggression. The legal framework for pig keeping exists primarily for disease control but also provides minimum welfare protections that must be understood by all keepers.