Providing enrichment to gestating sows addresses their strong motivation to root, forage, and explore - behaviours severely restricted in intensive housing.
Gestating sows without enrichment spend much of their day performing stereotypies or in inactivity - neither indicates a positive welfare state. Rooting substrate that can be manipulated satisfies the most fundamental behavioural need of pigs. Even minimal enrichment significantly improves the welfare of sows in gestation housing.