Farm Animals

Pig Welfare and Welfare and Individual Pig Welfare Assessment

Individual pig welfare assessment goes beyond herd-level metrics to identify and address the welfare of each animal in a commercial system.

Key Facts

Individual variation in welfare means herd averages miss animals with poor welfare
Body condition scoring at the individual level identifies nutritional welfare problems
Individual lameness assessment identifies specific animals needing treatment
Precision livestock technology enables individual welfare monitoring at commercial scale
Tracking individual welfare across the production cycle enables life-course welfare improvement

Welfare Considerations

Individual welfare assessment treats each pig as a subject with specific welfare needs. Technology is making individual assessment tractable at commercial scale.

What You Can Do

Advocate for individual welfare assessment requirements in pig certification
Support precision livestock technology adoption for individual welfare monitoring
Engage with the welfare implications of treating each animal as an individual