Stockmanship training programs measurably improve pig welfare outcomes. Human-animal relationship quality is one of the most cost-effective welfare interventions available.
Stockmanship is one of the most powerful and underutilized welfare tools available to pig farmers. The quality of daily human-pig interaction shapes the baseline fear level of an entire herd. Positive stockmanship training produces rapid, measurable welfare improvements that cost little beyond time and attitude change. Its neglect in welfare policy relative to physical housing improvements is an opportunity for high-impact advocacy.