Welfare Science

Pig Welfare and Sanctuary Models

Animal sanctuaries for pigs provide rescue and lifelong care for individual animals while serving education and advocacy functions.

Key Facts

Farm animal sanctuaries in the UK and US provide homes for rescued pigs from factory farms
Sanctuary pigs often demonstrate behavioral complexity including play, social bonding, and problem-solving
Educational visits to sanctuaries increase visitor empathy and welfare-conscious behavior
Sanctuaries face resource challenges maintaining high welfare standards for long-lived pigs
The sanctuary model serves individual animal welfare rather than population-level welfare improvement

Welfare Considerations

Farm animal sanctuaries provide profound welfare benefit to the individual pigs in their care while serving as powerful education and advocacy platforms. They demonstrate what pig welfare can look like when animals are genuinely valued as individuals.

What You Can Do

Visit or support a reputable farm animal sanctuary
Follow sanctuary social media to build connection with individual pig welfare stories
Donate to sanctuaries that both care for animals and actively advocate for welfare improvement