Farm Animal Welfare

Pig Welfare and Precision Livestock Technology

How precision livestock farming tools are enabling continuous, objective pig welfare monitoring.

Key Facts

Computer vision can detect early signs of tail biting, respiratory distress, and lameness in pigs
Acoustic monitoring detects abnormal coughing patterns indicating respiratory disease onset
RFID tracking systems identify individual pigs and flag deviations in movement and feeding behaviour
Integration of multiple sensor streams provides richer welfare assessments than single metrics alone

Welfare Considerations

Precision livestock technology offers the potential to transform pig welfare monitoring from periodic observation to continuous, objective assessment. But technology must be matched by trained staff and clear response protocols - data without action cannot improve welfare.

What You Can Do

Support development of open-standard welfare monitoring platforms accessible to small farms
Advocate for welfare technology adoption to be incentivised through assurance scheme requirements
Choose pork from producers demonstrating active use of welfare monitoring technology