Welfare Science

Pig Welfare Benchmarking Between Farms

Welfare benchmarking enables comparison between farms using standardised indicators, identifying best practice and targeting support to farms with poorest outcomes.

Key Facts

Welfare benchmarking using animal-based measures identifies which farms need most support
Statistical analysis of large datasets identifies welfare risk factors at population level
Farm benchmarking tools have been developed and validated in the Netherlands and UK
Farmers generally respond better to benchmarking within peer groups than to absolute targets
Digital tools make welfare data collection more practical and scalable for large samples

Welfare Considerations

Benchmarking transforms welfare assessment from absolute compliance checking to comparative identification of where improvement potential is greatest. Farms with the worst outcomes receive targeted support, and best practice is identified and spread more systematically than through individual auditing.

What You Can Do

Support adoption of welfare benchmarking systems in pig industry associations
Advocate for welfare benchmarking data to be accessible to researchers and policymakers
Engage with pork supply chains about implementing welfare benchmarking requirements