Farm Animals

Farmed Pig Finishing Welfare: Monitoring and Benchmarking

Welfare monitoring during the finishing phase enables identification of farms and conditions causing the most significant pig welfare problems.

Key Facts

Finishing pigs represent the largest proportion of pigs in commercial production
Tail biting, lameness, and respiratory disease are primary welfare problems in finishing units
Benchmarking finishing welfare data against industry averages identifies outlier farms
Producer engagement with welfare assessment data drives improvement more than enforcement alone

Welfare Considerations

Finishing pigs often receive less welfare attention than sows and weaners because their market time is limited. Yet the scale of finishing pig numbers means welfare improvements here affect the most animals. Regular outcome-based monitoring with benchmarking and improvement support changes outcomes.

What You Can Do

Support pig assurance schemes that include finishing unit welfare assessment
Advocate for benchmarked welfare data sharing among pig producers
Choose pork from farms participating in transparent welfare performance reporting