UK and EU regulations require environmental enrichment for pigs, but the quality of compliance varies enormously from token provision to genuinely effective enrichment programs.
The gap between minimum legal compliance with enrichment requirements and genuinely effective enrichment is perhaps widest in pig production. A hanging chain, required by many welfare codes, does not satisfy the rooting drive that motivates pigs to investigate, manipulate and turn over material. Straw — the most effective and welfare-relevant enrichment for pigs — is avoided by many intensive producers because it complicates slurry management. The result is widespread enrichment provision that technically complies with regulations while providing little actual welfare benefit. Higher standards that specify effective material types and quantities — as in the RSPCA Assured scheme — deliver meaningful welfare improvement.